Fighting words from Hull City's American forward Jozy Altidore.
Almost two months before what is shaping up to be an epic U.S. vs. England World Cup matchup, Altidore is the lead story on FIFA.com this morning with his statement that “England doen’t scare us.”
Wayne Rooney’s potential shock return for the Champions League this week means he will surely line up against Altidore and the U.S. on June 12.
With a World Cup showdown looming, Americans continue to make headlines in the EPL. U.S. national-team goalkeeper Tim Howard saved a penalty kick but West Ham scored late for a 2-2 tie at Everton on Sunday. The Hammers’ American defender Jonathan Spector was singled out for a poor defensive play that led to one of Everton’s goals.
Also on Sunday, Clint Dempsey played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 2-1 comeback victory over Wigan.
Another shot at England's football royalty comes from Revolution head coach Steve Nicol, who thinks Liverpool will not qualify for the automatic Champions League berth.
Staying in the UK, Scotland’s national-team manager is reportedly tracking Stuart Holden’s younger brother.
More USA-England connections courtesy of a report in the UK claiming there is a New York Football Challenge in the works, featuring the likes of Newcastle United and other major European clubs.
International tours to go along with two wins to start the MLS season. Things are looking up for RBNY. Head coach Hans Backe is also on the mend.
With a light Easter weekend schedule, many MLS clubs had time to do some fine tuning. The Columbus Crew took advantage of their weekend off to work on their finishing skills.
The Union will have a new right back before their home opener on Saturday vs. D.C. United. In this report (in Spanish), Cristian Arrieta says goodbye to the Puerto Rico Islander fans.
While it may have gone unnoticed over the weekend, the Wizards’ Sunil Chhetri scored a hat trick in an exhibition. That’s four goals in two friendlies for India’s Landon Donovan.
Although fans will have to wait until Saturday for MLS action, several other American players abroad will play on Monday. In England, Plymouth Argyle (Kenny Cooper), Sheffield Wednesday (Frank Simek) and Watford (Jay DeMerit) take the field along with five League One sides featuring Americans. Sporting Fingal (Chris Konopka) go for the top spot in Ireland.
Matches for U.S. players in Scandinavia today feature Denmark’s AaB Aalborg (Chris Rolfe), Sweden’s Örebro SK (Alejandro Bedoya), Norway’s IK Start (Clarence Goodson and Hunter Freeman) and Stabaek (Mikkel Diskerud).
The hype is building for next weekend’s Barcelona vs. Real Madrid La Liga showdown. Both teams will enter the match on 77 points after los Merengues earned a 2-0 win at Racing Santander on Sunday behind goals from the usual duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín.
In Argentina, Boca Juniors and River Plate both lost again.
Lastly, Sunday night’s SuperClásico in Mexico saw Chivas de Guadalajara secure a 1-0 win over América and in the process clinch a liguilla (playoff) berth with the best record in the league.
