The USA Men’s National Soccer team is facing a very important pair of matches this week with qualification for the 2014 World Cup on the line.  Because of a slip-up in Jamaica one month ago, the Americans will now have to play competitive games against Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda in the next week just to earn a spot in the final qualification round.  Amidst all the speculation and worries surrounding these matches, manager Jurgen Klinsmann decided to throw another curve ball by not selecting Jozy Altidore for the squad, a move that is confounding the media.

Jozy Altidore is currently America’s best striker.  He has scored 8 goals for his club, AZ Alkmaar in Holland and is jointly leading the Eredevisie league in goals scored.  However, apparently Altidore has frustrated Klinsmann during international duties and that has led to his absence on the team.  Klinsmann is quite correct in that assertion, as Altidore has largely disappointed in recent international games, having not scored since last November.

I do find it alarming that Klinsmann is using this moment to make a statement of this magnitude to the player.  Clearly these matches in the CONCACAF region aren’t nearly as important as the World Cup, but right now America is in a position that if we lose these games, the World Cup in Brazil will not exist for team America.  Regardless of reasons, Klinsmann would likely be immediately dismissed from his role and the nation would be humiliated.  The scary prospect is also very real, as our U-23 team learned when they failed to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics this past summer.  These two matches are huge, and I think we really could use one of our best, most athletic players, especially one who is in such great form at his club.

Also, I feel that Klinsmann is wrongly blaming Altidore for the loss in Jamaica.  Altidore was largely ineffective in the match, but so were many other players in generally weakened squad.  Clint Dempsey had yet to play a match since June and although scoring early, didn’t provide much else.  Both Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley missed the game through injury leaving our midfield dangerously thin, and this prevented Altidore from getting any service to score.

Donovan was recently injured again and will miss the vital games.  Brek Shea, one of the team’s exciting young wingers, is also hurt and will miss the matches.  Leaving out Altidore for these games means we will have to rely largely on Clint Dempsey.

Another player who will need to play his best is Herculez Gomez, who has been favored striker by Klinsmann and scored the winner in the second match against Jamaica at home.

I suppose that Altidore’s omission from the squad is Klinsmann’s way of teaching a lesson to the young player.  Personally, I think Altidore brings more to the team than any of our other strikers, but Klinsmann was appointed boss to make these decisions so the fans will have to sit back and hope he makes the correct call.  Obviously he knows the importance of these games and feels that Altidore is not our best option, even as a substitute.  We can only hope that he is correct, as the soccer nation in America will be holding its breath for the duration of these two matches.

Thierry Henry may not be the same player as his young self who once dominated the English Premier League at Arsenal roughly ten years ago, but he sure looked like his old self the other day versus Toronto FC, when he roughed up their defense with three fine assists and one world class goal that earned him the MLS Player of the Week award for the fifth time this season.  It was a performance that echoed his stellar career as a brilliant striker.

After Henry and the New York Red Bulls went down to a fantastic Ryan Johnson long-range strike, the Frenchman took matters into his own hands and began to direct the offense in the manner that had elevated him to his famous level in England.

Only seven minutes after Johnson’s goal, Henry placed a beautiful corner kick right onto the head of Markus Holgersson who headed it cleanly into the goal for the equalizer.  Thierry Henry then began to set up great opportunities with clever passes from a variety of areas for his teammates, but it took several opportunities to finally set up a goal.

In the 27^th minute, Henry found himself with the ball in a great opportunity.  His presence drew in both the last defender and the goalkeeper who looked to block the ball.  In elite fashion, he passed the ball across the empty goal to fellow Red Bull, Kenny Cooper, who finished the easiest goal of his life.  It was a bold pass that only someone of his talent and composure would try.  Most strikers would have attempted to shoot from his angle, but Henry had the awareness to pick out the wide-open Cooper for the sure finish instead of giving the goalie a chance to make a save.

Henry then killed the game off in the 88^th minute when he found possession within the penalty box, and this time lured in three defenders and the goalie before again picking out Cooper and slotting him a pass for the second easiest goal of his career.

The Henry show wasn’t over yet though.  Late in stoppage time he got on the end of a long pass and lobbed the ball over the goalie from 30 yards out to cap off a great evening with an incredible finish.  Few players have the awareness and abilities of Thierry Henry, and this performance is another realization of the pure class and genius that encompasses the player with a soccer ball at his feet.  Take a look at the highlights here.

Having world-class talent like Thierry Henry on display at MLS clubs has been providing great entertainment for American fans throughout the country.  The more of these types of players that this league can bring in to the country, the better and more fun these games will become!

With his fantastic header in the 68^th minute against the New York Red Bulls, Dwayne De Rosario became only the 7^th MLS player in history to net 100 goals in the league.  Joining the ranks of Landon Donovan and Jeff Cunningham, De Rosario has had an illustrious career in the MLS and is one of the legends of American soccer.

From Canada, Dwayne De Rosario began his MLS career with the San Jose Earthquakes, where he made an immediate impact in the MLS Cup Final match, scoring a golden goal that propelled the team to victory.  In 2003 the club again won the MLS Cup and he played a solid role on the squad.

He continued at the club even after they moved and became the Houston Dynamo, where De Rosario helped lead the club to two more successive titles in 2006 and 2007.  Clearly he was one of the most influential players and has an incredible tendency to score brilliant goals, earning the MLS Goal of the Year award on several occasions in 2004 and 2005.

Dwayne De Rosario plays the vital attacking midfielder role that is so important in orchestrating the offense.  He has been very successful at this role as he has wonderful ball control and moves to confuse defenders.  Even more impressive is his finishing capabilities.  The 100^th goal was pure class as De Rosario rose to meet a long ball and calmly directed into the net while beating the lunging opposing goalie to the ball.  He said of the goal, “I figured, I am either going to wake up tomorrow wondering what happened or I’m going to put it in the back of the net.”

Fortunately the latter happened and he was able to run off to the corner and celebrate with his strange dance move.  He now will go down in history as one of the finest MLS players ever, a true legend of the game.

He has also spent time at Toronto FC and is currently playing for DC United.  At 34 years of age, he is reaching the twilight of his career but clearly still has got game with his recent goal-scoring exploits.  We can all question and wonder what he could have been if he had moved to a European league, but in my opinion what he has done for American and Canadian soccer has been a wonderful sight to see.  Please enjoy some highlights of the fantastic playmaker set to some classic hip hop tunes.

Last year, the American women were beaten in the Women’s World Cup final by Japan.  It was a scarring defeat as the USA had led during extra time but gave up a late goal and subsequently lost the penalty kick shootout.  This year, those memories were rekindled as the Olympic final again put USA and Japan in competition.

America apparently learned from their mistakes as thy played a much better game this time around. The majority of chances fell to them as Alex Morgan utilized her amazing speed to be a constant threat in the final third.  Early in the game, she received the ball, and was able to chip in a lovely cross that Carli Lloyd headed in for a goal.

The USA never looked back.  They continued to dominate and allowed Japan only the rare few chances which they failed to capitalize on.  Hope Solo was incredible in the goal for America. She made numerous key saves to keep Japan demoralized throughout.

In the second half, Carli Lloyd struck again.  After a wonderful run she blasted a long range strike into the bottom corner that was impossible to save.  The goal doubled America’s lead and proved to be the vital winner.  Japan tried to stage a comeback.

As time dwindled they pushed forward and found a few opportunities.  America suddenly appeared lazy and a horrendous clearance off their own goal line fed the ball right to Japan in the box.  After a smart pass, Japan had scored.

Then another terrible defensive error gave another chance to Japan, but Solo was able to make a brilliant diving save to block the score.

America played smart down the final stretch and were able to prevent any sniff of a comeback as they held onto the ball and defended well.  They desperately tried to score another goal. Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan both had several opportunities to score but just missed and grew increasingly frustrated.

But the Americans held firm and Japan seemed to lose their energy in the waning moments of the game.  The whistle blew and America was a joy as they had earned their 4^th gold medal in only 5 tries at the Olympics.

Such a feat is astounding in the modern game and simply shows how valuable Title IX has been at providing for women’s sports in this country.  Although they were beaten at the World Cup, the American dominance in women’s soccer in the Olympics has proven time and again that they are at the world’s forefront of the game.