Soccer By Ives

Dempsey scores two vs. Chelsea on good day for Americans in England

 

If there was any doubt before, Clint Dempsey provided the clearest evidence to date that he is truly back to his best.

The U.S. national team star scored two goals, including an 89th minute equalizer to help Fulham register a 2-2 tie vs. Chelsea on Sunday.

Dempsey's brace was the highlight of a pretty good day for Americans in England.

Altidore to stay with Villarreal, speaks out on lack of Olympic playing time

                                                                           Photo by ISIphotos.com

Jozy Altidore will be staying with Villarreal for at least the first half of the upcoming La Liga season.

The U.S. national team striker and former Red Bulls standout revealed that he will not be going to another Spanish club on loan, which had long been expected, and will stay with Villarreal as the club deals with a rash of injuries at th forward position.

Altidore made the revelation on his blog on the New York Times website on Friday.

Perhaps even more stunning than that development is Altidore's revelation that he was not injured during the Olympics and simply didn't see more playing time because coach Peter Nowak decided not to use him more.

USA men tumble out of Olympic Tournament

The task was already going to be tough, but when U.S. Olympic defender Michael Orozco drew a red card just four minutes into the U.S. team's crucial Olympic match against Nigeria, the job turned into trying to swim in a shark tank with your foot cut off.

The Nigerians picked and prodded at a gutsy U.S. team, eventually finding openings and punishing the Americans with a pair of clinical goals on their way to a 2-1 victory on Tuesday. The win helped Nigeria win the group, and also helped eliminated the United States from the tournament just three days after the Americans looked well on their way to the quarterfinals.

Who should the USA start vs. Nigeria?

                                                                                     Photo by ISIphotos.com

The task is simple, but far from easy. Avoid defeat against Nigeria and the U.S. men's Olympic team advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Secure a victory against Nigeria and the Americans advance AND avoid facing Argentina in the quarters.

The Nigerians aren't going to make that easy, not when they enter the match needing a victory to assure themselves a place in the quarters. Throw in the fact that U.S. standouts Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley are out due to yellow card suspensions and you have a match that will define just how strong the USA really is.

After using the same exact starting lineup in the second match tie vs. the Netherlands as he used in the opening win against Japan, U.S. head coach Peter Nowak won't have that luxury this time. Now he has to make some tough decisions about his starting XI. Here is one guess at the starting lineup he will use when the Americans face Nigeria on Wednesday.

A look back at the USA-Netherlands match

                                                                                       Photo by ISIphotos.com

It's okay to admit it. The U.S. Olympic team's 2-2 tie vs. the Netherlands feels like a loss, doesn't it? Just seconds from the biggest win in U.S. men's Olympic history and a sequence of poor decisions leads to a late Dutch equalizer and the painful feeling you would normally associate with a defeat.

Yes, it felt like a loss, but it certainly was not a loss.

That final play can't be forgotten and ignored, but it also shouldn't overshadow what was still one of the best performances an American team has put together in an international tournament. After being dominated for the first 20 minutes and trailing by a goal, the U.S. team responded with quality soccer and fearlessness.

Late Dutch goal forces USA to settle for tie

                                                                                       Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. Olympic team was just a minute away from the most impressive result in U.S. men's Olympic soccer history. One minute from a place in the quarterfinals, and one minute from potentially avoiding Argentina in the quarterfinal draw.

All that changed when Gerald Sibon drove a low free kick under the U.S. wall from 23 yards out to give the Netherlands a last-gasp equalizer and force the Americans to settle for a 2-2 tie in Olympic action on Sunday.

Olympics: USA Men vs. Netherlands (Your Running Commentary)

Good morning all. Today the U.S. Men's Olympic team faces off against the Netherlands in a crucial group match for both teams. The Americans won their first group game, 1-0, against Japan, while the Dutch tied Nigeria, 0-0, in their opener.

I will be providing live commentary on the match over at the NBC Olympics website, where you can watch high-quality live feeds of all the Olympic matches.

If you will be watching the USA-Netherlands match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

For now, let's take a look at the lineups:

Where will you be watching USA-Netherlands?

If you are planning on watching the USA-Netherlands Olympic match and don't want to watch it alone, don't you worry. U.S. Soccer is planning watch parties in several major markets so you won't have to be alone on a Sunday morning screaming at your television.

U.S. Soccer is hosting viewing parties at Nevada Smith's in New York City, The Globe in Chicago and Summer's Grill and Sports Bar in Washington D.C. (well, actually Arlington, Virginia). So if you live near any of these three establishments, it might be worth your while to join your fellow U.S. national team fans as they cheer on the USA against the Netherlands (7:55am Eastern time kickoff).

For those of you who can't make it to those parties, remember that you can watch the action on the NBC Olympic website, which has live streaming video as well as my live running commentary.

So let me ask you, where will you be watching USA vs. Netherlands on Sunday?

Who should the USA start vs. the Netherlands?

                                                                                     Photo by ISIphotos.com

With just two days between Thursday's 1-0 victory against Japan, and Sunday's showdown vs. the Netherlands, U.S. Olympic men's soccer coach Peter Nowak has some tough decisions to make.

With the heat and humidity in China making such a quick turnaround very difficult, Nowak figured to be making several lineup changes from the first to the second game anyway. Now, with several disappointing performances against Japan, Nowak will have even more motivation for the various changes he will likely make.

The Netherlands will be arguably the U.S. team's toughest opponent in the group and there will be a high price on maintaining composure and limiting turnovers against a Dutch squad that punishes opponents for mistakes.

With that in mind, here is the starting XI I see the U.S. team fielding against the Netherlands:

Dutch Olympic team to face USA short-handed (and Dutch coach takes jab at U.S. team)

The Dutch Olympic team will be down at least two players when it faces the United States on Sunday.

Veteran Dutch striker Roy Makaay, one of the Netherlands over-age players, and midfielder Evander Sno, are set to miss the vital showdown against the USA on Sunday. Makaay suffered a foot injury in the first half of the Dutch team's scoreless draw with Nigeria, while Sno is set to serve a suspension for his red card late in the same match (a red card he drew after a studs-up challenge on Columbus Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo).

The Dutch team is still stacked with talented attacking stars Ryan Babel, Jonathan DeGuzman and Roysten Drenthe, but the short rest and hot weather could make the absence of those two players tougher to overcome.

Tests on Makaay's foot revealed no break, but he will miss Sunday's match.

The story of the missing U.S. Soccer crests

                                                                                     Photo by ISIphotos.com

If you were watching the U.S. Olympic team play and felt like something was missing, it's because something was.

The U.S. Soccer crest (pictured below) that is emblazoned on every U.S. national team uniform was not on the U.S. Olympic team uniform for the men or the women for their opening matches. The reason? According to a U.S. Soccer official, The International Olympic Committee does not allow national governing bodies to include their crests on their uniforms during the Olympics.

If you have seen other teams with crests, it is because the national federations for those countries have ignored the IOC mandate, and are subject to fines by the IOC.

So no, there wasn't a laundry fiasco and nobody made off with the crests. There's your answer to the missing crests question.

Holden goal helps USA down Japan

                                                                                      Photo by ISIphotos.com

When Stuart Holden found a loose ball in front of goal and buried it past the Japanese goalkeper, the strike helped relieve a world of pressure off a U.S. Olympic team that could not afford a letdown in its first Olympic match.

A stingy U.S. defense and poor Japanese finishing helped the Holden goal stand up as the Americans posted a 1-0 victory in the opening match for both teams. The American victory, coupled with the Netherlands' 1-1 tie vs. Nigeria, put the U.S. team atop the group heading into it's showdown with the Netherlands on Sunday.

The Japanese will count themselves unlucky not to have walked off the field in Tianjin with a victory, as countless chances went begging and a few close calls failed to go their way. Ultimately, the young team did not respond well to Holden's goal and Japan let the Americans control the game from there on out until the final few minutes.

Olympics: USA Men vs. Japan (Your Running Commentary)

Good morning everybody. It is bright and early and the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team is set to begin it's tournament with an opening match against Japan (4:55pm, MSNBC). The match is crucial to the American team's chances of advancing out of a brutal group that includes the Netherlands and Nigeria.

If you want to follow the match, the best place to do so is at the NBC Olympics website, which has live streaming video as well as my live commentary during the match. As always, you can share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section here on SBI.

Enjoy the match.

SBI to provide live commentary on NBCOlympics.com

The Men's Olympic Soccer Tournament is set to begin in less than 24 hours and there will be three places to follow my coverage of the tournament. On SBI, ESPN.com and now on the NBC Olympic Website, where I will be providing live commentary during the men's tournament's top matches, including all three U.S. team matches.

In other words, you won't even need your television to follow the Olympics. Just go to NBCOlympics.com to watch the live stream of all the games (along with my commentary on the featured matches), and also be sure to share your thoughts on the Olympic action here on SBI, where I will have some running commentary posts up for you morning warriors who will be up watching live. Then, when the matches are over, be sure to check in here on SBI and at ESPNSoccernet.com for the post-game coverage of all U.S. national team matches.

Be ready to drink a lot of coffee (or whatever your preferred energy drink is) in the coming weeks as we see some of the world's best young players face off.

What do you think about the Olympic tournament? Excited? Dreading the early mornings? Eager to see how the U.S. team does? Share your thoughts on the upcoming tournament below.

Who should Peter Nowak start vs. Japan?

                                                                                 Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Olympics are set to kick off for the U.S. men's national team on Thursday morning against Japan, which means that in less than two days we will know who head coach Peter Nowak has chosen to start.

The U.S. team has some very good options in attack, and some quality players will be left on the bench. The key for Nowak will be balancing his attacking threats with the defensive needs of a team that is lacking in the back-field options department.

Here is the lineup I can see Nowak trotting on the field for the match against Japan on Thursday morning (4:55 a.m., MSNBC) in Tianjin, China:

Why Benny Feilhaber may never leave China

                                                                               Photo by ISIphotos.com

See that picture? It's Benny Feilhaber after he scored the eventual game-winning goal for the U.S. national team in a packed Soldier Field to defeat Mexico in the 2007 Gold Cup final. That is pretty much the high point of Feilhaber's professional career.

The low point? Was it being benched at Derby County? Was it injuring his knee at the Toulon Tournament a few months back?

Nope, I would have to say that the low point of Feilhaber's career is this video of Feilhaber's rendition of the Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown song "No Air" (no, really), courtesy of fellow DP member SF over at The Offside Rules (WARNING: video may cause nausea or hysterical laughter and might be NSFW)

Enjoy the video (and please come back and share your thoughts.)