You really have to like what the USSF is doing to try and get the USMNT ready for next summer’s World Cup. After being rumored for months, the USSF announced today the US will play third-ranked Netherlands on March 3 in Amsterdam.

The Americans will face the Dutch at Amsterdam ArenA on March 3 (2:30pm, ESPN2/Galavision). The game will also be on an international fixture date meaning we’ll probably see a big mix of European and MLS players from Bob Bradley.

This friendly along with the Honduras one in January and a possible match with Mexico in February is starting to shape some things up nicely for World Cup tune-ups for the US. Hopefully this trip to Europe will be a little better than the one last month that saw the US go down to Denmark and Slovakia.

One country just couldn’t stand the heat I suppose. Mexico announced today that they will not be placing a bid for two future World Cups, 2018 and 2022. Mexican federation President Decio de Maria basically said the money wasn’t there for the country to do a good enough bid right now.

First of all the stadium situation in Mexico isn’t that great to go head-to-head with countries like the US for a World Cup bid. Sure Mexico is soccer-hungry but the cost right now to redo a good chunk of their stadiums or even build new ones would be pretty high for a country with a fairly weak economy.

The US is now the only CONCACAF country bidding for the two Cups. The US is now in competition with Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands (joint bid), England, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Portugal (joint bid), Qatar, and Russia for one of the two World Cups up for grabs.

Strong bids from England and the two joint bids are what is standing in the way of the 2018 World Cup for the US. More than likely as we’ve discussed before here the World Cup will likely go to a European country in 2018 while the US likely stands to be the best bid for the 2022 Cup.

What do you make of Mexico dropping out of the running here? Surprised at all?

A lot of talk has gone on today and last night really about the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying standings at this point. I know I made a bigger deal out of the standings a couple days ago and I still stand by my thoughts about how I think the US are still fine even with the loss to Mexcio.

There is still a lot of qualifying left to do. Let’s make that clear, four games may not seem like much but it can certainly change the landscape of how things will finish out here.

First of all the US has gotten it’s hard games out of the way on the road in Costa Rica and Mexico, not to mention getting their home game to Mexico out of the way. They still have Costa Rica at home left to finish out qualifying but as we all know in the Hexagonal, Costa Rica and Mexico (up until the Gold Cup for them at least) don’t win in the US and the US doesn’t win in Mexico and Costa Rica. If that holds to be true we will indeed be fine.

But saying we will be fine isn’t enough for some. The way the standings are right now we pretty much have a sense of who the top four teams will be and who the bottom two are. Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador aren’t out of the running but they sure have a longer way to go with four games remaining.

At this point the best case for the US would be a first place finish in the group with say 19 points (the two home wins and a win in either T&T or Honduras). Speaking of Honduras they are sort of the wild card team in this for CONCACAF. I still think they could qualify over Mexico here if things go right.

Again, a lot of soccer left to be played. I still feel good about the US here but I know some naysayers out there may disagree.

Time for some extra links though to get you through the rest of the day. Continue Reading…

Tim Howard did his best but it wasn't enough. (Getty Images)

To say I am not disappointed would be lying. I am a bit disappointed in not pulling out the draw today but one thing I do know is soccer is never a kind sport when you want it to be. Excuses aside though we should be very thankful that the US showed up and play well today down in Mexico, it may have not been solid for 90 minutes but still better than in the past.

This one does hurt though just as all losses to your big rival are. Getting the lead for the first time in Azteca and then to only quickly blow it away really stunk. Not to mention playing for the draw for a good portion of the game always comes back to bite you in the ass. It just comes down to lack of chances and lack of chances taken by the US.

Possession was an issue today as well. I’m sure the altitude had something to do with that over 90 minutes because believe me, that far above sea level and you are gasping for air no matter how good of shape you are in. Along with the posssession was the lack of quality touches on the ball in the midfield.

It turns out yet again that we just aren’t here all the way. We are getting close but results like today and failing to hold on to leads shows this club is still a step away from really becoming what we all want them to be as a team. I know Landon Donovan and others spoke a lot about holding leads after the loss to Brazil in the Confederation’s Cup. We just aren’t there yet.

Lastly we cannot make excuses on the refs. Sure they were terrible today but would you really expect anything better being on the road in CONCACAF qualifying? I sure wouldn’t, in fact if we got too many calls going our way on the road I would be worried that there would be a fix going on somewhere.

In the end we did learn a few things like seeing how Stuart Holden is ready to make the jump to the main A-squad of the USMNT. Charlie Davies is the real deal as a striker for us going forward too. Defensively we aren’t too shabby but we still give up too much space. Bob Bradley was better with his subs today and going forward that’s positive to see.

Let’s just remember we just really need two more wins here and we should be good to qualify for South Africa. With two games at home and a road game against Trinidad and Tobago I think six points should be simple enough to get.

Again it is disappointing but not the end of the world. We know where we want to go and we are getting there.

I keep going over a few different things in my head for this big game today. While we all know the US has never won in Mexico I do feel that this time things could be different. At the very least a draw would be huge but a win would easily signal a trip to South Africa for this bunch.

So what steps do the US need to take to get a least a point out of this trip to the Azteca? I’ve jotted down a few key points that need to take place in order for a good result this afternoon.

Handle The Crowd and Attack Early

Let’s face it, this Mexico bunch is under way more pressure to do well in this game than our bunch. They may also have a false sense of confidence after the Gold Cup too which could come in handy. They know how important this game is to them and their fans so for the US they have to hold Mexico’s attack early. Mexico will come out early and often in this one to keep the crowd going and because they know an early goal would go a long way in getting three points.

Get The Crowd Off Their Back

If the US can handle Mexico for the first 20 or so of the game, they may be able to turn the Mexican crowd on their own bunch. How so? It is simple really, getting a goal on a counter-attack or just holding the Mexican attack to nothing will get this 100,000+ bunch even more angry. Expect things to turn quickly at the Azteca if things don’t go right for the boys in green.

Get Landon The Freakin’ Ball

The US need to play to their strengths today on the road, and part of that means playing through Landon Donovan as much as possible. He’s really put this group on his back this summer and I cannot see him doing anything different in this one. Using his speed in the attack to go at Mexican defenders will also be key.

Holding Possession

The US cannot give up silly mistakes in the midfield and on the wings. Mexico will eat them alive all afternoon if they do. Containing the pressure on the wings will be key. Gio Dos Santos is one fast dude and his counterpart Guarado isn’t too shabby either. Ricardo Clark needs to stay out of foul trouble in this one and contain these boys, along with Michael Bradley.

Staying Focused and Hungry

Going down early will be a tough thing to do in this one but giving up late goals is also never an easy pill to swallow. The US just need to stay focused for 90 minutes+ today and also stay hungry in their offensive third. Chances could be low today so they need to make everyone count.

Quick Thoughts:

This one is big, we get it but as we get closer to it we also need to realize once again that the pressue isn’t on our boys to do well today. The pressure is squarely on Mexico. I think the pressue could get to them which is why I feel the US will get a point out of this trip. A draw is what we need out of this game.

WVH Prediction: Mexico 1, USA 1

More video hype this time live from the Azteca.

Time for some game day hype. This time we get former US national team defender and WVH favorite Eddie Pope’s take on playing Mexico at the Azteca.