USA & Argentina Set to Square Off This Saturday at New Meadowlands
The US Men’s National Team will play its first game together since August, when they head to New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey to play world powerhouse Argentina. Argentina is currently ranked as the 4th best team in the world according to FIFA rankings, while the United States is ranked 19th.
The game, which will be televised live on ESPN2 at 7 P.M., features many of both countries best players, including Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey for the USA, and in my opinion, the best player in the world, Lionel Messi for Argentina. There is no doubt about the immense amount of talent that will be on display for fans to see this weekend, which is why over 50,000 tickets have been sold for the game.
The US team began its training today in Cary, North Carolina for the game on Saturday against Argentina, and for its other friendly against Paraguay in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, March 29th. Both of these international friendly’s should give head coach Bob Bradley a good look at who he might want to bring with him to the Gold Cup this summer.
The US roster has many familiar faces, but also many new ones. Timothy Chandler, David Yelldell, and Zak Whitbread are all receiving their first call ups to the senior national team, while regulars such as Tim Howard, Oguchi Onyewu, and Michael Bradley will also be making the trip. Overall, the roster has 14 players who were on the squad at this past World Cup in South Africa.
So if you don’t happen to be doing anything Saturday night, and you’re looking for something good to watch on TV, I would recommend catching some of this game, even though it doesn’t necessarily count for anything. Many of the world’s best players who play for some of the world’s best clubs will be showcased, and you know you’ll always get entertaining soccer when watching Argentina.
This game will also be a good measuring tool to see just how well we can play against the best in the world. If we can put out a good showing and possibly get a win, it would be a huge confidence boost going into this summer’s Gold Cup.
Rosters UNITED STATES
GOALKEEPERS (3): Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tim Howard (Everton), David Yelldell (MSV Duisburg)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne), Jonathan Bornstein (UANL Tigres), Timothy Chandler (FC Nürnberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Vancouver Whitecaps), Oguchi Onyewu (FC Twente), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Zak Whitbread (Norwich City)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Michael Bradley (Aston Villa), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Mikkel Diskeruud (Stabaek), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)
FORWARDS (3): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor), Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt)
ARGENTINA
GOALKEEPERS (3): Mariano Andujar (Catania), Adrian Gabbarini (Independiente, Argentina), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)
DEFENDERS (8): Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid), Gabriel Milito (Barcelona), Nicolas Otamendi (F.C. Porto), Federico Fazio (Sevilla), Nicolas Burdisso (Roma), Marcos Rojo (Spartak Moscow)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Mario Bolatti (Internacional, Brazil), Ever Banega (Valencia), Fernando Belluschi (F.C. Porto), Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan), Lucas Biglia (Anderlecht), Javier Pastore (Palermo)
FORWARDS (6): Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid), Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica), Jose Sosa (Napoli), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica)
