Optimism is better known as a positive outlook on a situation with an unclear outcome.
It’s a word that surrounds the to-be-determined U.S. men’s national team roster for this summer’s World Cup, and the match results that will follow.
Less than three months away from the much anticipated opening match with England, optimism in the U.S. camp [...]

Patience is a virtue, or so they say.  With World Qualifying finished and less than a year until South Africa 2010, it may seem as most of the waiting is over.  But for the U.S. men’s national soccer team and its supporters there is more to wait for now than in the past three years.
Waiting [...]

Players will talk about the long and strenuous road that is qualifying for the World Cup. For the U.S. men’s national team, this last week of qualifying has been as emotionally charged as any other.
Finding themselves down a goal with only minutes remaining in stoppage time, Jonathan Bornstein connected with a Robbie Rogers corner kick [...]

On Saturday the U.S. men’s national team will face El Salvador in Sandy, Utah.

The Americans currently sit in third place, tied with Honduras at ten points (behind only by goal differential) and two points behind first-place Costa Rica. While after a win versus the U.S., Mexico is now looming in fourth-place and only a point [...]

Summer’s over.  And for U.S. supporters, it probably left a bad taste in their mouths.
The past two matches for the Americans have been losses to rival Mexico: a 5-0 embarrassment at the Gold Cup final, and more recently a disappointing 2-1 loss at Estadio Azteca.
Focusing on the more recent of the two, there are some [...]

Hours after the United States confirmed the Mexico bogey, Richard Farley and Dave Topp broke down the results from Estadio Azteca and evaluate where Wednesday’s loss leaves the country’s program. In the show’s final segment, Richard is joined by Jeff Kassouf, owner of Equalizer Soccer, a site devoted to promoting the women’s game. [...]

It’s the definition of home field advantage.  Azteca Stadium.

With a chance to reclaim power in CONCACAF, the U.S. men’s national team fell to Mexico 2-1 under the heat, humidity, and altitude of 100,000 plus fans.
Charlie Davies put his team up early.  Mexico responded quickly with a first-half goal of its own.  A late second-half strike [...]

Two tournaments, two second-place finishes, and more noteably two second-half collapses.
But is that how American supporters should remember this summer’s U.S. soccer campaign?
The U.S. failed to hold a 2-0 lead at halftime against Brazil, then after outplaying Mexico for the first 50 minutes of the Gold Cup final; they were embarrassed to the tune of [...]

As Bob Bradley and company have continued on through Gold Cup play, the challenge of repeating as champion has become more and more daunting.
Team performance appears to be slipping with every match. Several key players have left to begin training with their European club teams. Still the Americans managed finish group play atop their opponents [...]

After two shut-out wins to begin the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the U.S. men’s national team needed a stoppage time goal from midfielder Stuart Holden to secure a tie versus Haiti.
Holden also assisted a goal to Davy Arnoud to put the U.S. up early.
“Confidence, the more games I’ve gotten I think I’ve got more comfortable,” [...]