What a trip!

I don't know how well it translated to television, but the atmosphere at RFK Stadium on Wednesday night -- even at half-full -- was as "electrifying as a hair dryer tossed into a bathtub", as Roy Hudson once cried.

Already charged up by Saturday's World Cup qualification and saddled with emotions from forward Charlie Davies' devastating car accident earlier in the week, the US crowd found even more to get loud about in the form of a dirty, dangerous and ultimately embarrassing Costa Rican soccer team.

It began innocently enough, with States striker Conor Casey blowing a chance to send the stadium into ecstasy. As fans held up handed-out "9" signs for Davies during the ninth minute, Casey ripped what should've been an easy goal over the net as the game clock struck 9:00. It was the first of an entirely forgettable and borderline offensive game for Casey, who played with the gusto of a chicken liver. You could've been convinced his cement shoes were on the take.

Maybe it was Costa Rica's defense, because Jozy Altidore was also pushed around a bit, but the other members of the mens team played dominating soccer save for a four-minute span that saw FC Twente striker Bryan Ruiz strike twice to put CRC up, 2-0.

It would've been easy for the Yanks to pack up and stay home, but they played inspired soccer against a team that refused to work for their World Cup berth, milking the clock with humiliating tactic after humiliating tactic. At one point, a defender was taken off the field on a stretcher, crossed the sideline, jumped off it and re-entered the game at the next opportunity.

While the Costa Rican fans celebrating, racing their flag around the 400-level of the stadium, even of the heads of American fans, the States kept plugging away. The U.S. kept switching fields and hammering crosses into the box. Down two goals at half, you could still be confident that the Yanks would come marching back, though America used stunning drama to do it.

Michael Bradley showed typical grit in the 72nd minute, pushing a ball into the CRC net and closing the gap to one, but the attack wasn't complete until Jose Francisco Torres entered the game to put extra calm in the midfield, and Casey was substituted with Kenny Cooper, who at least endeavored to be in the proper position to win 50/50 balls.

There were five minutes of added time, and the Yanks made sure to use every drama-drenched moment. Jonathan Bornstein's head met the equalizer off a corner kick, and the celebration was on at 90+5. With a Mexico draw and a Honduras win, the Yanks had claimed CONCACAF and sent Costa Rica into a playoff with Uruguay (Told you Argentina would qualify on its own, drama kings).

The crowd exploded along with the fireworks, and the celebration was on, players circling the field after skipper Carlos Bocanegra addresses the home fans. The players snagged posters from the stands honoring Davies, and Tim Howard wore a cowboy hat. It was incredible.

I have to go do my real job now, but good looks to the effort from our boys, especially Stuart Holden and Steve Cherundolo, who never quit running and hitting great balls into the box. Also, a nod to Landon Donovan, who never hung his head despite working himself into several wonderful opportunities, only to miss. It's going to be a fun ride next summer...

The States have only announced one international friendly so far, Nov. 18 in Denmark against the Danish squad. Twenty-three of the 32 teams that will play in SA2010 have qualified, and Denmark is one.

Safe and Sound to South Africa!

Before I get into my notes from Saturday night's qualifier, viewed quite pirate-like on the information superhighway, here's the recap I typed for my 9-5er at WGR in Buffalo:

The United States is the 19th nation to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after a thrilling 3-2 road victory in hostile Honduras.

Unlikely starter Conor Casey tallied twice as the States countered the game's first tally. His first goal came off an attempted header that connected with the top of his back and bounded into the Honduran net. The second came off a beautiful feed from Landon Donovan, who later scored off a free kick to put the States up, 3-1.

Honduras' Julio Leon made it interesting late, scoring his second of the game to halve America's lead, and the game looked all but tied when Jonathan Spector was whistled for a handball in the goal area late in the goings. Yet immensely talented Carlos Pavon sailed his penalty kick high, and missed on a late header a few minutes later, sending Honduras into a very dangerous spot if they want to end up in South Africa. With the political unrest in Honduras, here's hoping Pavon safety in his home nation.

The United States remains in first in the North and Central America qualifying group known as CONCACAF, and will likely need a win Wednesday against Costa Rica in Washington, D.C., to finish on top. It won't be easy, as Costa Rica will need a win to ensure a trip to South Africa, while Honduras will have to beat El Salvador and hope the Costa Ricans tie or lose to the States.

Joining the States in South Africa so far are:
Australia
Brazil
Chile
Denmark
England
Germany
Ghana
Italy
Ivory Coast
Japan
Korea DPR
Korea Republic
Mexico
Netherlands
Paraguay
Serbia
South Africa
Spain

32 teams in total will qualify for next summer's tournament.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

-- I'm genuinely worried for Pavon. Central America is all sorts of crazy, and he has put the Hondurans in a tricky spot. I hate the Honduran team, but maybe he can be a hero on Wednesday in El Salvador.

-- I was alarmed and upset by Bob Bradley choosing to play Casey, and I'm happy to peel several eggs off my face. What a long way I've come from wondering whether Bradley had the smarts to coach the team. His son was right and righteous with his summer anger.

-- Oguchi Onyewu made a couple brilliant tackles tonight to make up for later looking goofy on the second Honduras goal.

-- It was really good to see Landon Donovan get nutty off a free kick. The States really need that.

-- Stuart Holden made some sensational crosses and through balls. Way to go, Stu.

Bradley names 22-man roster for final matchdays

Bob Bradley's decided who's going to match up with Honduras and Costa Rica. Here's an accidentally lewd picture of Stuart Holden -->

Altidore, Jozy (F)
Bocanegra, Carlos (D)
Bornstein, Jonathan (D)
Bradley, Michael (M)
Casey, Conor (F)
Cherundolo, Steve (D)
Ching, Brian (F)
Clark, Ricardo (M)
Conrad, Jimmy (D)
Cooper, Kenny (F)
Davies, Charlie (F)
Dempsey, Clint (M)
Donovan, Landon (F)
Goodson, Clarence (D)
Guzan, Brad (GK)
Holden, Stuart (M)
Howard, Tim (GK)
Onyewu, Oguchi (D)
Rogers, Robbie (M)
Torres, Jose Francisco (M)

Clearly, Bradley is prejudiced against most players with names that begin with letters in the second half of the alphabet. Notable names missing: Beckerman, DeMerit (injured), Kljestan, Marshall, Pearce

No lesson learned; 2-1 loss

Well, that provided very little fun.

The States' supporters could be forgiven for having confidence heading into Wednesday's tussle with Mexico at Azteca despite a 0-22-1 record in the building. This was the A-team looking to avenge an ugly Gold Cup loss with all the confidence of their strong Confederations Cup performance behind them.

So when the States struck early thanks to Charlie Davies right foot, it felt like the party was on. Oh, how the young don't learn. The Yanks sat back and let Mexico equalize and eventually topple their hopes at cracking the longheld goose egg at Azteca.

It's hard to fault Bob Bradley. His subs made sense, with Benny Feilhaber, Jozy Altidore and Stuart Holden all providing a lift whether for performance or injury. The big guns just weren't there when needed. Save for an assist on the US goal, Landon Donovan had to be essentially invisible offensively while dedicating so much time to playing box-to-box.

Why would he have to do such a thing? Perhaps the second Mexico goal gives us a big clue, as Oguchi Onyewu was caught in a terrible spot high inside the box, enabling Miguel Sabah all the time he needed to give El Tri their late winner.

So many players were ghosts, but it may be better to focus on those player who allowed this game to end 2-1. There's only one worth singling out, as Jay DeMerit continued his excellent international play with some terrific tackling. Onyewu was otherwise very good, but the mistake will be what's remembered.

(Just so it doesn't seem I'm an idiot, I realize how terrible the officiating was. I know there's a huge edge to having 100,000 people threatening death on a referee, but you'd like to think he could make a single call).

Four games remain for the States, who luckily have the two teams at the bottom of the table ahead. If the US can take all six points, which is a completely reasonable expectation, they should be safe for World Cup, but it shouldn't be about that. Here was a chance to do the undoable, and the Yanks let it be done to them.

How poor.

STANDINGS (Top three into WC2010, 4th team plays 5th team of CONMEBOL for final spot):
12 pts - Costa Rica (vs. Honduras, Aug. 12)
10 pts - USA
9 pts - Mexico
7 pts - Honduras (vs. Costa Rica, Aug. 12)
5 pts - El Salvador (vs. T&T, Aug. 12)
2 pts - Trinidad and Tobago (vs. ESL, Aug. 12)

States Embarassed by El Tri in Final

The United States fell on its own soil for the first time in ages, and "fell" is an understatement. The States were picked apart by Mexico, 5-0, at Giants Stadium in the Gold Cup final.

Thanks to head-scratching defense from the Yanks, and superlative performances by Premier League attackers Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela, the "C-plus" team ceded their trophy back to El Tri, who will certainly have a chant or two for the visiting Americans come Aug. 12's World Cup qualifier at Azteca.

Where to start with the back end? Jay Heaps was an abhorrent for the second time in two weeks, while Heath Pearce wasn't much better. The latter defender remains unsigned, and would be best suited to hit the Major League Soccer circuit and practice against less than world class talent.

It's a shame for goalkeeper Troy Perkins, whose defense played tentative. Strike that, they played scared, and that's the most embarassing label you can apply to any unit. After a scoreless first half, the four backs played all sorts of ugly. This was more like the 3-1 loss in Costa Rica than the first team's losses to Italy and Brazil in group okay of the Confederations Cup.

Other notes...

-- Watching the Mexicans dance all over the New York grass -- and rightfully so -- really puts some heat and fervor back in a rivalry that has been one-sided. The States real squad needs to get something special going for the trip to Azteca next month.

-- Dos Santos was stunning, and Vela's addition to the game really underlined what the States were missing. As Max Bretos pointed out during the broadcast, Charlie Davies up top would've helped a ton.

-- Sure, I'm bitter right now, but before I suit up for a mens league match, let me comment on the broadcasting. Fox Soccer Channel's Bretos picked his most inept moments for the States most embarassing game. Tell me, Max, do they keep a whipping post inside a woodshed? Mixing up his metaphors with a shocking lack of knowledge for an announcer on his stage, Bretos couldn't believe Heaps was whistled for his PK ("not in my books"?) and completely skipped over the clear offside on the Mexicans second goal.

Throw all of that together with his first half disbelief that anyone could call this US team "less than a B-team." Hey, Max, B-teams are commonly referred to as reserve teams. Besides Ching, who else on that field is going to be there on Aug. 12? Maybe Stu Holden. Also, when Bretos is doing a better job, it's a heck of a lot easier to brush over his horrible pronounciation of every player with any sort of different name. You don't have to sound like a Mexican to properly announced a last name.

As a last note, the FSC crew might want to put the microphone a little closer to color man Christoph Sullivan's mouth.

First-half goal, second-half excitement: US to Final, 2-0 over Honduras

Unlike a great many of the Gold Cup games, I genuinely enjoyed the soccer on display during Thursday's semifinal between the States and Honduras. The Hondurans play with such passion -- and dirtiness -- that they have skipped the stairs and taken the escalator to 1a to Mexico's 1 on the list of CONCACAF teams I despise.

While the first half was almost entirely the teams feeling each other out -- odd for squads that have met several times in recent months -- it ended with a spectacular corner kick goal that set the tone for a dynamic second half.

Clarence Goodson headed home a picture-perfect corner service from Stuart Holden in the 45th minute to give the US its first of two goals on the night, but the second 45-plus minutes were a sales pitch for soccer in America.

Holden was phenomenal for this cliched rag-tag group of misfits (and by "misfits," I mean "mostly second-choice players" in the nicest of fashions). His speed was fantasic, his creativity necessary and his services were first-class. With apologies to goalkeeper Troy Perkins, Holden was unquestionably the man of the match. He played a game very similar to that of Robbie Rogers during his brilliant group play, only -- maybe -- more disciplined.

Kenny Cooper's goal was another piece of great football. Brian Ching continues to impress, holding up his man and touching the ball to Holden who found the barely onside Cooper for his second goal in two matches. It looked a little funny from the camera angle, but Cooper's finish was very nice, perhaps even understated.

There was great pace and guts to the second half, with both teams providing a great contest. It's an absolute shame the Mexico/Costa Rica semifinal isn't be aired on FSC. The venue will be Giants Stadium on Sunday for the 2009 Gold Cup Final, and I've got absolutely zero love for it being scheduled on my first anniversary. I'll wait to see how the other semi plays out before I go predicting "Dos a Cero, v5.0"

Also important to point out that Bob Bradley has been pretty solid with his line-ups and substitues. Kudos.

By the way, Freddy Adu "tweets" that there are some interesting developments going on... full-time to Monaco? Actual time on Benfica? A transfer elsewhere? Getting back together with JoJo? What an American moment for soccer this music video was...

Look at this joker

"I just thought I'd support Brazil and Honduras, bro, cause like Brazil isn't playing. I know this guy from Brazil though, and I got this flag so, put two and together, bro... I'll take off these glasses, but I'm not saying sorry."

1-0 States at the half. Clarence Goodson gets up and over on a Stuart Holden corner. That's how you get some looks.

2 goals for, 2 goals against, 2 transfers

So, we learned something very valuable in the 2-2 tie against Haiti in Game Three of the States' 2009 Gold Cup campaign: the United States' "C-plus" team isn't better than Haiti's "A" squad.

On a day when two young American strikers found new overseas homes -- more on that later -- the US rolled out a starting line-up of players extremely unlikely to make a dent in the 2010 World Cup's XI, and still played alright.

The States first goal was nice, but poorly defended by Haiti. Stuart Holden sent a swell low pass in to Davy Arnaud who used a calm, left-footed finish to put the States up 1-0.

Haiti's first goal was a comedy of errors. First, defender Jay Heaps was turned inside out. Then, goalkeeper Luis Robles can't get a finger on the big cross. Finally, no back post defender marks the goal scorer, and we're tied at one.

Hard to fault Robles on the second goal. Mones Chery -- pronounced like the French mon cherie -- hit a sick and somewhat lucky 20-plus-foot yard strike into the far-upper-90. It was essentially unstoppable. 2-1 Haiti, all in the span of four minutes.

But Holden would equalize with a strike just as nifty. To go near post from the angle he had was incredible, almost breathtaking when you consider it came in the second minute of stoppage time. 2-2 tie, and clinching the B1 seed for the rest of the tournament, which means the US will draw a much easier match-up the rest of the way. If Guadeloupe can upend Mexico on Sunday, the States may finish with only the second-best record in the tournament's group play.

The States will likely take on Panama or Jamaica on July 18 in Philadelphia, though there's an extremely outside shot they'd face Nicaragua. It would take a miracle, but after the Confed Cup, we know better than to assume anything.

If the States wins that matchup, they'll take on the winner of Canada vs. Honduras for the right to go to the Gold Cup final.

--- As for the transfer market, Jozy Altidore's Spanish adventure is over for now. After forgettable campaigns with Villarreal and Xerez, the Yellow Submarine has agreed to loan the 19-year-old to reigning Greek champion Olympiacos, so it'll be Champions League football for Jozy after all. Altidore will have to work for playing time over former EPL player Matt Derbyshire and young Brazilian striker Diogo.

Charlie Davies has moved spots on the continent as well, eschewing Hammarby in the Swedish Allsvenskan for Sochaux in France. A Ligue 1 squad, Sochaux finished 14th last season. Davies will get to take on his Yank teammate Carlos Bocanegra when his new team matches up against Rennes, and the most notable of his new teammates are Slovenia defender Bojan Jokic and Ivory Coast international Kandia Traore -- at least to me.

-- Good looks to Heaps, even if he looked awkward once or twice. The 32-year-old defender earned his first cap the hard way. Heaps played 299 MLS games before getting his first look with the national team. Congratulations, Jay.

-- My computer's out of juice and it's late. Good evening, and apologies for the shorter post. And if I missed some completely obvious things, forgive me... I've been awake for far too long. Went to the Taste of Buffalo, then helped some friends move before doing play-by-play for the Buffalo Flash and going to a wedding reception. Wow.

Rogers a Revelation in four-nil start to Gold Cup

Great image from Getty.

A few hours later, some first-watch running commentary.

First off, thanks so much to Fox Soccer Channel for providing two commentators who didn't take the time to think about what they were going to talk about in the introduction segment. Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan seem to think the Gold Cup is imperative for the States to maintain their momentum. Yep, either that, or the whole Egypt/Spain thing did that, and the world will notice that America's B+ side set up for this tourney. One or the other, boys.

Goals:

States 1, Grenada 0 -- It's hard not to love Robbie Rogers, who plays with such energy for the Columbus Crew, and Grenada gives him far too much time to operate on the States' first goal of the Gold Cup. Rogers takes a miscue down the left wing and into the 18, having three options: shoot, find Charlie Davies on a terrific full run or lay off to Freddy Adu. He chooses the latter, and Adu releases the frustration of seeing precious little playing time in South Africa last month with a low kick past Grenada keeper Noel.

States 2, Grenada 0 -- Fault porous Grenada marking, but Rogers sends another filthy cross into the box that Stuart Holden powers into the net with his forehead. Rogers has the opportunity to really open some eyes with the way DaMarcus Beasley has underperformed in recent matches.

States 3, Grenada 0 -- Logan Pause's first cap leads to a well-placed long ground ball to Rogers, who had a look at assist No. 3 should he have played it to Davies, but instead he places a spinning far-post finish as pretty as any you've seen this summer. The Yanks are toying with poor Grenada. Let's hope this doesn't lead to cockiness in the rest of Group B's play.

States 4, Grenada 0 -- I'm also a big fan of Heath Pearce, and his lay-off to Davies for the fourth goal was the stuff of fantasy. Nice to see Chad Marshall get a moment, using great vision to send the long ball 2/3 of the way down the field to Pearce. Davies deserved a goal after a solid day.

Thoughts:

I've got a lot of love for Stuart Holden, the Scottish-born, Dallas-raised 23-year old. He showed a lot of gumption in his performance, letting fly with some nice rips from gutty distance and angles.

The Gold Cup made it easy to forget what Steve Cherundolo brings to the fold. His runs from the back are generally well-timed and often dangerous.

Robbie Rogers is so exciting to watch, even if he plays a little too excited himself on occasion.

I continue to fall in love with the physical and speedy play of Davies. He is, as our British friends would say, a joy to watch. The rocket he unleashed wide of the Grenada goal just before the start of stoppage time served as further awakening for American supporters.

Brad Evans of the Sounders hometown ovation upon entering in the 62nd minute was tempered by his getting a yellow card for coming on before Steve Cherundolo was off.

Adu hit a chip in the 71st minute that is the stuff legends are made of, even if it was off a keeper's mistake. The ball was as close to upper 90 as you can get without fitting it in the window. Adu shows the flair that earned him the hype every now and then, even if he continue to struggle to make club and country impact.

Game Two of the US' Gold Cup journey is 9 p.m. EST Wednesday in Washington, D.C., against Honduras. It will be televised on FSC again. Game Three is July 11 (Sat.) at 7 p.m. EST in Foxboro against Haiti.

Updating a previous story... Jermaine Jones should be eligible for a US roster as early as Sept. 5 against El Salvador. Left defender Edgar Castillo, who recently renegged on a commitment to Mexico to play for his native US, does not have a set date, but it may be the same.