U.S. Men's National Team: March 2008 Archives

U.S. Soccer announced the game this afternoon.

From the press release:

The U.S. Men’s National Team will face Argentina at Giants Stadium June 8 to cap off a blockbuster trio of friendlies before kicking off 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The match against the world’s No. 1 ranked team follows a two-game tour in Europe where the U.S. will take on England May 28 in London and Spain June 4 in Santander.

The match against Argentina will kickoff at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN Classic and Galavision.

"Argentina is clearly one of the best teams in the world and playing against an opponent of that caliber is a great opportunity for our team," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "Combined with the matches against England and Spain, we have put together a very good schedule to help us prepare for World Cup qualifying. We expect it will be a fantastic crowd at Giants Stadium, and we are looking forward to an exciting atmosphere."

The U.S. begins the quest to qualify for their sixth-consecutive World Cup finals when they take on Barbados on June 15 at Home Depot Center. The second leg of the home-and-away series will be played either June 21 or 22 in Barbados. Prior to the USA’s first World Cup qualifier, the U.S. will have faced six teams that have been ranked in the top 15 in the world since 2007 – Argentina, Brazil, England, Mexico, Sweden and Spain.

The U.S. has played top-ranked Argentina eight times in their history, holding a lifetime record of 2-6-0 against the South American juggernaut. Of those eight matches, only three have been played in the United States, with the other five taking place in neutral sites. The two U.S. victories include a 3-0 upset of the defending champions in the group phase of the 1995 Copa America, and a 1-0 win in 1999 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., when a Joe-Max Moore goal was the difference.

The teams last met during the 2007 Copa America, with the Argentines outclassing a young and inexperienced U.S. team in their 4-1 win in Venezuela.

In a result that emphasized the increasing importance of set-pieces in international soccer, the U.S. beat Poland 3-0 today with the Galaxy's Landon Donovan supplying two assists from corner kicks and Eddie Lewis scoring the third from a free kick. Game story here, overly enthusiastic details here.

David Beckham notched his 100th appearance for England, a yellow card and the general consensus that this game should be his last for the national team.

In other results, the Koreas drew in a game more important than the result, the U.S. learned it will play Barbados in the opening World Cup qualifier in June 15 at Home Depot Center, and the Canadians figured out how they will choose a CONCACAF Champions League entrant from all of three teams.

While the Galaxy's David Beckham is winning his 100th cap for England today in a game only available on pay channel Sentanta here, the 28th-ranked U.S. led by Landon Donovan will wear its new anthracite (charcoal grayish?) away jersey for the first time against 24th-ranked Poland in a game shown live at 12:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.

Meanwhile, Mexico plays Ghana in London at 12:30 p.m. on Univision Telemundo among a host of other international games on tap.

Busy over the Easter weekend?

Here's a recap.

David Beckham is looking at cap No. 100 - and beyond - for England against France Wednesday, Landon Donovan is eying cap No. 99 - and beyond - for the U.S. against Poland the same night, while the U.S. fell to Honduras 1-0 Sunday in a meaningless end to Olympic qualifying in Nashville, Tenn.

Qualification for the Olympics is at stake at 6 p.m. tonight live on Fox Soccer Channel for the U.S. and Canada.

As expected, David Beckham was recalled to the England squad, while the U.S. game against England May 28 in London has been confirmed.

Closer to home, Chivas USA defender Alex Zotinca may be out for the season and the Red & White Wednesday thumped Cal State Fullerton.

Lastly, the Galaxy announced that AM 570 KLAC (home of the Lakers) will broadcast at least 24 games this season.

Already a busy day in soccer so let's get to it:

The U.S. Women's National Team decisively defeated Norway 4-0 Monday to reach Wednesday's Algarve Cup final in Portugal against Denmark.

Former U.S. star Hugo Perez and former U.S. women's Coach Anson Dorrance were elected to the veteran and builder categories respectively, the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced today. Palos Verdes' Joy Fawcett was yet again denied entrance, though.

Chivas USA's striking duo of Maykel Galindo and Ante Razov (who scored a goal) started for the first time this preseason, but that wasn't enough to prevent Toronto FC winning 3-2 Sunday in San Antonio, Texas.

Finally, Chivas USA put their single-game tickets on sale today, with seats starting at $14.