USA soccer supporters, rejoice! The USA Men’s national team has unleashed a new jersey that ranks amongst the best I have ever seen. The jersey was put on display yesterday when the Stars and Stripes played to a tie against rival Mexico at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.

The one thing that makes this new thread unique is the simplicity of it. There is nothing too fancy or electric about the white jersey. Completely white, the uniform has five red stripes that go across horizontally. Thats it! No weird lines, no horrific markings. Nothing! Without a doubt, Nike has put its mark on this jersey, creating a beautiful shirt.

Now there are some little things about the jersey that could go unnoticed. On the inside of the jersey near the collar, an inscription reads, “Don’t Tread On Me.” That motto for the U.S. national team is flanked stars and stripes. Finally, on the back collar, the countries name is displayed to give it a nice finishing touch.

I am very pleased with the U.S. Soccer Federation and Nike. They’ve teamed up to create a subtle, classy design. The jersey will be worn by the United States for the next two years and will appear mostly in the qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The jersey can be purchased here at U.S. Soccer Store.

The United States National Soccer Team has fallen into some very unsettling territory during the past few days. After losing their opening game in the 2007 Copa America to Argentina last week, the Americans fell short yesterday, as Paraguay secured a 3-1 victory.

The match against Paraguay last night marked the third consecutive game that the United States has played against a 2006 World Cup team. With a win against Mexico in the Gold Cup Final and a lost to Argentina in the books, it was Paraguay next in line to take on the Americans. During the first half, both squads controlled the ball extremely well. But it was Edgar Barreto and Paraguay that scored first in the 30th minute. Ten minutes later, however, Ricardo Clark from UCLA tied the the match when he nailed home a shot from outside the box. The score would remain the same at halftime.

After the interval, Paraguay took complete control of the game. The United States was outpassed, outrun, and most importantly, outscored. Paraguay went ahead with a goal from Oscar Cardozo in the 56th minute and they sealed it in the 90th as Salvador Cabanas silenced the Americans bench.

Everyone knows that the squad Bob Bradley chose to take to Venezuela for the tournament was both young and inexperienced. Many of these fresh faces on the national team have never played in a tournament of this magnitude. However, you can point the finger to Bradley on that one. Bob chose his team knowing that he probably will get sent packing early in the competition. The United States has an outside chance at still advancing if they can grab a top third place finish when they play Columbia on Thursday.

Leading up to the United States’ match against Argentina, I gave them about a 30% chance of winning. With no Donovan, Dempsey, and Beasley, the Americans fought tough but were eventually crushed by the South American powerhouse, 4-1.

Within the first ten minutes of the game Benny Feilhaber split the Argentine defense and sent a beautiful through ball to Eddie Johnson, who was then sandwiched by two Argentines for a penalty kick. Johnson gained his composure, focused, and struck home the spot kick for a 1-0 lead. The crowd at Maracaibo was shocked and Argentina was left scratching their head. The itch would end quickly, however, as Riquelme received a free kick outside the American box in the 12th minute. The Boca Juniors star sent a cross pass in that would find Hernan Crespo, who edged it in on the rebound for the equalizer. The score would remain the same going into halftime.

The United States looked very good coming out for the second half but they began to break down as the game went on. In the 64th minute, Hernan Crespo took the ball down the right side of the field and dashed into the box to score past Kasey Keller. A weak attempt of a save by Keller led to the goal. After the goal, the United States looked completely gassed and it showed. Pablo Aimar headed home the third goal for Argentina in the 78th. Finally, with five minutes to go, Carlos Tevez scored to make it 4-1. Tevez appeared to be offside from every single camera angle but the referees felt otherwise.

I knew the United States were likely to lose this game but once the game began and rolled along through the first half, I thought they had a chance to obtain a tie. However, Argentina proved to us why they continue to be a world class team that is very hard to beat. Head coach Bob Bradley will have to make some moves with his lineup and hopefully tune up before the Americans’ next game on Monday against Paraguay.

In celebration of the 35th anniversary of Title IX (gender equity in sports), Nike and the U.S.A. Soccer Federation teamed up to provide the American women with new gold uniforms. The ladies debuted the uniforms last week at Giants Stadium with a 2-0 win over Brazil. The women will wear the uniform for their remaining send-off series matches in the U.S. before wearing them to the World Cup later this year.

Before I begin any further I would like to applaud the U.S. women for their stunning presence. They’re beautiful, cute, and ready to kick your ass all at the same time. Star forward Abby Wambach says, “The team loves the new gear,…with the end goal to be wearing these jerseys in the Women’s World Cup final in China.”

Most of the jersey is gold as seen. But I do love how Nike created the shoulder and sleeve section of the new kit. On the left side of the jersey, the shoulder area is adorned with white, while the right side is marked in red. Both the red and white are further outlined by a blue trim that forms at the neck area. The gold Nike choose is a subtle one that doesn’t scream out at you. It is perfect for the women who have a great shot at bringing home the World Cup title this September.

I really do enjoy what Nike and the U.S. have created with this one. The gold is something different, but it represents what women in the past and the current squad have done to get to this successful point in time. The jersey can be purchased at ussoccerstore.com for a respectable price. The U.S. women deserve nothing but gold as they continue to dominate women’s soccer.

After two weeks of dominating smaller nations in the 2007 Gold Cup, the United States took home gold in the final today. Trailing Mexico 1-0 at halftime, the Americans never gave up and defeated their rivals from the south of the border 2-1.

When play began this afternoon from Soldier Field in Chicago the usual hard-knock fighting from Mexico and the USA was not visible. Both squads remained fairly calm throughout the first half unlike the routine shoving that North American soccer fan’s are used too. In the 44th minute Mexico was able to grab its’ first goal on American soil against the USA in 797 minutes. Mexican winger Andres Guadardo received a cross pass in the center of the defense to strike it home for the 1-0 lead. The score would remain the same as both nations went into half.

When Guatemalan referee Carlos Batres signaled for the second half to begin the intensity that the 60,000+ in Chicago were waiting for came alive. Possession after possession, Mexico and the USA were going after each others heads. That aggression lead to a penalty kick for the USA as Mexican defender Jonny Magallon tripped up Brian Ching in the box. Throughout the entire tournament Landon Donovan took the penalty kicks for the United States and he did it again today leveling the score to 1 -1.

With a little over a quarter time left in the match, it seemed as of someone from either nation would score. The energy from both sides never died down and the flow attack seemed to grow stronger. Finally in the late in the second half Benny Feilhaber silenced Mexico has he recovered a Donovan corner kick at the top of the box to volley it home for the go-ahead goal. Feilhaber’s strike is surely to become the one goal that people will remember when they look back on the tournament.

The United States has taken home two consecutive Gold Cup’s. The only thing different about this one, is that they were able to lock up a bid in the 2009 Confederations Cup which will be played in South Africa against other Confederation champions. The Americans are moving fast up the FIFA rankings, but they will have to continue this run into next week’s Copa America when they take on Argentina on Thursday.

It took some effort and hard work from the United States to get past Canada in the semifinals of the Gold Cup last night. The win by the Americans secures a spot in the finals to face heated rivals Mexico Sunday afternoon in Chicago.

Even though the attendance at Soldier Field was minimal and the temperature was blanketed by humidity, the United States soccer team fought to the very end to hold on to a 2-1 win. Frankie Hejduk (left) scored the first goal of the game for the United States in the 39th minute. He received a pass from Landon Donovan at the top of the box and rocketed a shot off the left post, past Canadian keeper Pat Onstad. The goal by Hejduk was his first since June 11th, 2000.

Demarcus Beasley cruised down the field on a breakaway right before the halftime whistle and Onstad reacted quickly, but rather rough as well. The Canadian goalie tripped up Beasley in the box to get a penalty kick for the United States. Donovan took the kick, put it right past Onstad, and the Americans had a solid 2-0 lead going into the interval.

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