SALT LAKE CITY – The cadence of World Cup qualifiers fell a little differently this time – and U.S. players and coaches found it to their liking.
A typical U.S. camp built around qualifiers comes and goes quickly, with perhaps a couple of practice days ahead of the first match (and one of those is usually a regeneration day for players coming off club matches). Even on so-called “double-dates,” when the national team plays two matches in a FIFA international date window, there will typically be just three full days between matches.
That’s how it was, for instance, between the U.S. matches in Jamaican and then four nights later in Seattle against Panama.
But both teams had a full week between matches, and the United States players and coaches talked about the usefulness of actual practice sessions, workouts that might look more like the daily practices run routinely by the clubs.
(MORE: U.S.-Honduras match preview)
Future friendly “confirmed:” Not that it’s a big secret, but Jurgen Klinsmann more or less confirmed an August 14 friendly that has been arranged against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Eastern Europe.
Gold Cup roster announcement … : Before that, of course, is the Gold Cup. Look for the U.S. roster – a “B” team assembly, as we all know – to be released on or around June 27, the day they are due into CONCACAF. The 23-man roster must come off the 35-man preliminary list that came out May 31.
Honduras’ late arrival: While the United States spent almost a week in Utah, acclimating to the 4,200 feet altitude and adjusting to the unseasonably warm temperatures, Honduras chose to train in San Jose and then fly in Monday. The Central Americans trained just once in Salt Lake City, on Monday afternoon not long after arrival into Utah.
Yellow card situation: U.S. players carrying yellow cards (who would sit out the next qualifier with a booking tonight): Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Matt Besler, Geoff Cameron, Brad Davis, Clint Dempsey, Brad Evans, Tim Howard and Fabian Johnson.