El Tri Wednesday Gameday & More

El Tri Time

European Championship qualifiers are under way as I write this, the U.S. Men’s National Team plays at 11:30 a.m. in a friendly against Switzerland that airs live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision, but here in Southern California the big game is the Mexico-Guatemala contest tonight at the Coliseum.

Ivan Orozco has a preview.

Former Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz is on the Guatemala roster, by the way.

No Time For Beckham Thursday?

With the Galaxy mounting a late season surge, Coach Frank Yallop must decide how much and, indeed, whether to play David Beckham in Thursday’s crucial game against the New York Red Bulls.

Beck’s (still) isn’t talking to local soccer writers, but Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz takes a look at the pros and cons of that decision.

Prediction: Expect Beck’s to come off the bench if needed.

Meanwhile, columnist Paul Oberjuerge has more on the Galaxy’s resurrection.

Finally, Barefootballer.com, a site run by D.C. United’s Jamil Walker that focuses on training methods and soccer drills posted this video interview with the Galaxy’s Kyle Martino.

Swiss Time

Expect U.S.Coach Bob Bradley to field a young squad against the Swiss with an eye toward next year’s Olympics.

A total of 11 players on the roster, which has an average age of 24, are age-eligible for the 2008 Olympic Games : Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Robbie Findley, Tally Hall, Steve Purdy, Chris Seitz, Danny Szetela, Preston Zimmerman and Sal Zizzo.

The U.S. has never beaten the Swiss in seven attempts. The Swiss warmed up for the game with a 3-1 victory Oct. 13 against fellow 2008 European Championship hosts Austria.

Up to the minute info, including the starting line-up, will be posted just before kick off here.

Hope Time?

Meanwhile, the U.S. Women’s National Team plays the second of three post-World Cup games against Mexico tonight largely sight unseen (there’s no TV coverage) in Portland, Ore.

Striker Abby Wambach will be recognized before the game for reaching 100 caps (which actually occurred in the World Cup quarterfinal against England).

Naturally, there’s no mention of goalkeeper Hope Solo’s status on the U.S. Soccer Web site.

Will she be on the bench this time, get a start or just not worry about the whole thing since Coach Greg Ryan could be fired after the third Mexico game anyway?

College Time

Lastly, a brief update on the top-ranked UCLA women’s team is here.

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