United States Men’s National Team will play Australia on June 5 in Roodepoort, South Africa, one week before playing its first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This match will be shortly after the Send-Off series between Czech Republic on May 25 and Turkey on May 29.

This will be the first meeting between the two countries in 12 years. The Aussies hold a slim overall lead in the series over the US, going 0-1-1 in just two prior meetings.

I really like how the US is positioning itself before the World Cup. Between the two Send-Off matches and this one I really believe they are testing themselves better for the World Cup than in previous ones. Plus playing this game in South Africa gets the team accustom to the area once again over there. As much as I would have liked this game to be over here in the US, placing a game in South Africa right before the tournament has to have some good advantages.

What do you think of the US playing Australia a week before the World Cup? Wish the game were over here instead of in South Africa?

Bob Bradley has some tough choices to make for tomorrow's friendly against Holland (Getty Images)

Honestly I need to amp up my USMNT cover on here. I’ll admit I don’t get to see every game like I would like and I honestly nearly forgot the El Salvador game last week. In fact I didn’t even get to watch all of it but what I did see what the final 20 minutes or so which were fun to view since it was a nice comeback for the US.

What we know is this Holland game tomorrow is a biggie. Its in Holland and the Dutch are easily one of the best squads in the World right now. But this is more than a high profile friendly for Bob Bradley it is a chance to really finish filling out his roster for June at the World Cup in South Africa.

A good chunk of the roster is probably set but for those bubble players this is a big test. The two friendlies so far this year were definitely for the MLS talent to show their stuff and while they did a decent job only a couple of that B or C bunch will make an sort of dent in this roster come June.

Bradley has a couple areas to hammer out before June. The nearly all his defense needs to be figured out, his defensive midfield spot, and a striker. Continue Reading…

It’s nearly time for my favorite World Cup tune-up this year. The match in Holland against the Dutch. Today Bob Bradley announced his 20-man roster for the March 3rd game.

There’s only four MLS players on this roster, so this may be a slight glimpse of what we’ll see in South Africa this summer. Too bad there is on Brian Ching, I really expected him to be on here after his performance last night.

So what do ya think?

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tim Howard (Everton)

DEFENDERS (7): Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS (7): DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Landon Donovan (Everton), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers), José Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS (3): Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)

I’ll admit I nearly forgot about this game yesterday and then I nearly forgot to post some thoughts about it. Honestly I didn’t get much out of the game other than the fact that both Heath Pearce and Brian Ching are definitely in line for a World Cup roster spot right now. The two better hope that there is some MLS this season or their WC dreams will go bye-bye.

That would be a shame too.

Anyways, here are some highlights and thoughts on the 2-1 win over El Salvador from ESPN. Crazy finish to the game but a nice showing by the MLS All-stars USMNT.

World Cup tune up matches are always important. Some including myself said the US Men’s National team took things a bit too lightly before the 2006 World Cup when they played matches against Venezuela, Morocco, and Latvia. It looks like this time around the tune ups could be a lot harder…or better depending on how you look at it.

Steve Goff is reporting this afternoon that the US is set to finalize their World Cup tune ups on home soil against some strong competition. The first match is likely set for being at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., against the Czech Republic. Goff goes on to say that after a game in Hartford the US will likely head to Philadelphia to play either Turkey or Ireland at Lincoln Financial Field.

Even though nothing is set in stone the possibility of these matches already blow 2006 out of the water. Let’s not the US will also be playing in Holland soon too. Playing strong competition to tune up things before the World Cup is a smart way to go in my books. Already the thought of facing the Czechs who saw Slovenia in qualifying makes sense.

It will be interesting to see where the third location is and who the third opponent will be for the US. Hopefully the US is lined up with some African country for a tune up match. We’ll see.

Update: The game in Philly will be against Turkey on May 29.

Bob Bradley’s national team camp opens next week at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., in preparation for the friendly against El Salvador at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on February 24.

No real major surprises for this camp as we figured it would be mostly all MLS based. This may be a first in a long time that the entire roster for a camp is all MLS based.

What do you make of this roster?

KEEPERS: Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA).

DEFENDERS: Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Orozco (Philadelphia Union), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC).

MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew).

FORWARDS: Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake).

Bob Bradley has released his 30-man roster for an upcoming camp next month. The roster is a heavy-MLS and Scandinavian based roster with loads of surprises for some folks out there. The roster will probably be trimmed down a bit for the Honduras friendly later next month on the 23rd.

Of the 30 players, 25 are from Major League Soccer with 13 of the 16 clubs represented. Good to see a few names on there like Kevin Alston from New England and Geoff Cameron from Houston.

Here is the roster:

GOALKEEPERS (4): Kevin Hartman (Kansas City), Troy Perkins (Valerenga), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)
DEFENDERS (8): Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (12): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Jeff Larentowicz (New England Revolution), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (6): Justin Braun (Chivas USA), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Brandon McDonald (San Jose Earthquakes), Marcus Tracy (Aalborg)