Contrast that to the game Friday night at the Home Depot Center where at best it was half-full and of those that were there, many were supporting the visitors.  10 years later, much has changed for American soccer fans.  We have unprecedented coverage of games on ESPN, with great production and announcers.  Soccer news is all over the Internet and even appears on SportsCenter and other mainstream media outlets.  When the US National Team plays, twitter is abuzz about the game.  Yet despite unprecedented coverage, people in Southern California refuse to attend, or better yet support our National Team.

Why US Soccer continues to put games in LA is baffling.  If they were short of funds, you could understand playing Mexico at the Rose Bowl or Coliseum would make sense from a financial standpoint.  But playing these games, in a half-full Home Depot Center makes no sense when there is demand for these games in other cities.  They could make more money and have a much friendlier crowd in pretty much every other city in the country.  Yet games are played at the Home Depot Center with tiny crowds and marginal support.

There are so many better candidates to host the National Team.  Portalnd sells out their stadium and gets larger crowds then what US Soccer got in LA for reserve team matches.  Seattle can always pull in a large Pro-American crowd.  Kansas City has the nicest stadium in the country, and has one of the largest supporters groups, American Outlaws Kansas City.  It is also close to other large American Outlaw groups that travel well from Des Moines and Omaha.

Although the result didn’t matter last night, in a year’s time the US will begin qualifying for the World Cup.  It is time to play games only in places where we can have a large Pro-American crowd and sell out the stadium.  Kansas City provided a great atmosphere 10 years ago and did it again last summer.  If US Soccer were smart, it would set up shop in KC.

Klinsmann is one of the greatest strikers to ever play the game and someone the players can look up to.   No past National Team coach in recent memory has had the playing career or experience that Klinsmann had.  He won the World Cup with West Germany in 1990, and at a minimum, our young strikers Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, and Teal Bunbury should improve under his tutelage.   All 3 of these players are very young, a little raw, but with a lot of physical ability.  We’ve never had a world-class striker on our roster, and while the three players named above may never have the technical skill to develop into one, they can become great players under Klinsmann’s guidance.  With his accomplishments as a player, it will give him instant credibility with the current team.

He has also had a lot of success as a coach, leading Germany to a 3^rd place finish at the 2006 World Cup.  Following a disappointing Euro 2004, Germany named Klinsmann their head coach. The Germans had an aging squad, and needed to interject new players and new tactics.  Klinsmann elevated many young players into the starting line-up and also had the team play an attacking style.  The team played with an attacking flare that up to that point had rarely been seen from German teams.  This is very similar to the challenge facing him today with the US.

With the job openings at the Youth National Team Level, Klinsmann will have the opportunity to shape US Soccer for the considerable future.  Because of a pretty fortunate draw in World Cup Qualifying, Klinsmann will have at least the next 18 months to experiment with new young players and tactics without risking progression to the final round of qualifying.  It will be exciting to see who is brought into the team.  The goal should be bringing in players that can start in 2014, not necessarily the best players at the moment.

The turnaround will not be overnight and there will be a lot of growing pains in the future but finally US Soccer has shown a commitment to someone who has a vision for developing a world-class program.  For the first time in a year, there is excitement surrounding the future of the National Team, something Bradley could not do.  Hopefully, the hiring of Klinsmann is not 5 years too late.

SATURDAY, July 16
COLOMBIA-PERU, Quarterfinal (live) 2:55 pm.
ARGENTINA-URUGUAY, Quarterfinal (live) 6 pm.

SUNDAY, July 17
BRAZIL-PARAGUAY, Quarterfinal (live) 2:55 pm.
CHILE-VENEZUELA, Quarterfinal (live) 6 pm.

World Cup Watch Party at Farmers Gastropub by James Radke

Pre-game broadcast begins at 1:00 pm. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:45 pm.

The US defeated Japan twice in exhibition matches in May, played on the East Coast. University of Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield scouted those games and put together the following Match Analysis of those games. Will we achieve a similar result Sunday? Share the excitement with us at Farmers!

By the way, did you hear the team won Best Play at the Espy’s?

CHICAGO (July 14, 2011) – The U.S. Women’s National Team woke up in Germany this morning to the news that they won Best Play at the ESPY Awards on Wednesday night for Abby Wambach’s header in the second minute of stoppage time in the second and final 15-minute overtime period of the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal against Brazil. Wambach’s dramatic goal, the latest in Women’s World Cup history, forced the match into penalty kicks, where the U.S. went on to win the penalty shootout and earn a place in the semifinal against France.

WEDNESDAY, July 13
7:00 pm – NEW ENGLAND-MANCHESTER UNITED – ESPN2/ESPN3.com

SATURDAY, July 16
9:00 pm – LOS ANGELES-REAL MADRID – ESPN2/ESPN3.com

MONDAY, July 18
9:00 pm – VANCOUVER-MANCHESTER CITY -ESPN3.com

WEDNESDAY, July 20
10:00 pm – REAL MADRID-CHIVAS -ESPN3.com

Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff

Quarterfinals
In the first bracket, Germany who finished atop Group A will face Group B runner-up Japan, and Sweden Group C winner will face Group D runner-up Australia. In the second bracket, England Group B winner will face off against neighbor France who were runner-up in Group A while the United States, Group C runner-up will face off against Brazil the Group D winner. All games will be covered live on ESPN and ESPN3.com.

The Guardian offers a nice roundup of the four matches and if you need a reminder of the strides the game has made, check out Jennifer’s post looking back to THAT game (USA/Brazil, 2007).

Here’s the schedule for the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals:

Saturday July 9th
10:30 am – England vs. France
1:15 pm – Germany vs. Japan

Sunday July 10th
5:30 am – Sweden vs. Australia
10:00 am – Brazil vs. United States

The Semifinals are July 13th and the Final will be July 17th.

I’ll be at Maria’s for the game, enjoying a cold beverage and a late lunch. On a side note, the photo I used on this post has been drawing hundreds of visitors a day to this site since the World Cup started. Searches related to swedish women’s soccer team, sweden women’s soccer, swedish women’s soccer, and swedish women soccer team show this image as the first in Google Images. Sweet!

WINNER TAKES GROUP C: The USA will have trained in Wolfsburg for three days before the Sweden match, the result of which will determine the Group C winner. The USA needs a win or a draw to take to the top spot while Sweden needs to win. Both teams won their first two matches by shutouts, but the USA scored five goals while Sweden scored two, giving the USA the edge in goal differential which is the first tie-breaker to determine placement in the group.

While the USA and Sweden are both through to the quarterfinals, their opponents and venue are still to be determined based on the result of the final Group C match. Should the USA win the group, it will travel to Augsburg near Munich to face the second place team in Group D. Should the USA finish second, it will travel back to Dresden – site of its first match of the Women’s World Cup – to face the winner of Group D. Brazil is almost certain to win Group D while Norway and Australia will play on July 6 for second place. Australia needs just a tie to claim second while Norway, which suffered a 3-0 loss to Brazil that badly impacted its goal differential, needs to win. No matter where the USA finishes in Group C, its quarterfinal will take place on July 10.

The Argentinian national team-which is led by Sergio ‘Checho’ Batista-begins their journey with the goal of winning, for the first time in 18 years, while Bolivia is now ready to play and would be satisfied to reach the second round, something that has not happened since 1997, when the team reached the final and lost to Brazil in Bolivia. The Argentine motivation for this game, in particular, is to avenge the 6-1 thrashing they suffered from the Bolivians in La Paz, during the South American qualifiers for the World Cup in South Africa-2010.

However, Argentina approach Copa América less in hope than trepidation

Suddenly, there are no certainties. The relegation of River Plate last Sunday, an event that seemed impossible and yet in hindsight looks inevitable – a slow motion slither of nine games without a win at the end of the season as the cliff edge got closer and closer – has had a profound effect on the mood of Argentinian football. If something as seismic as River being relegated can happen, who knows what the Copa América, which begins on Friday, might bring.

Games are being broadcast on Telefutura and Univision but it also appears that YouTube will be streaming games live. Check out YouTube/CopaAmerica for team previews (see Argentina below) and games.

July 1 – Argentina vs. Bolivia (TeleFutura, 8:30 pm ET)
July 2 – Colombia vs. Costa Rica (Univision, 2:30 pm ET)

The best source for commentary I’ve found on the Women’s World Cup is From the Left Wing. If you have a daughter, you owe it to yourself to read Jennifer’s work. And to watch some of these games!

FRIDAY, July 1
FIFA Women’s World Cup JAPAN-MEXICO (live) 7:45 am. – ESPN
FIFA Women’s World Cup NEW ZEALAND-ENGLAND (live) 10:45 am. – ESPN

SATURDAY, July 2
FIFA Women’s World Cup USA-COLOMBIA (live) 10:30 am. – ESPN
FIFA Women’s World Cup KOREA DPR-SWEDEN (live) 6:45 am. – ESPN2

SUNDAY, July 3
FIFA Women’s World Cup BRAZIL-NORWAY (live) 11:45 am – ESPN
FIFA Women’s World Cup AUSTRALIA-EQUATORIAL GUINEA (live) 7:45 am – ESPN2
FIFA U-17 World Cup TBD, Quarterfinal (live) 3:55 pm.

MONDAY, July 4
FIFA U-17 World Cup TBD, Quarterfinal (live) 3:55 pm. – ESPN3.com
FIFA U-17 World Cup TBD, Quarterfinal (live) 6:45 pm.- ESPN3.com

The US Boys U17 team got hammered 0-4 by Germany in their Round of 16 game yesterday. Another nail in the coffin of the US Developmental effort. A chance to see Germany or England, who defeated Argentina in PK’s, is worth it however. We’re a small market and we get excited about seeing Springfield Cardinal players make it to the Major’s. This is your chance to do the same thing with the World’s Game.

ESPN will be broadcasting games, beginning Sunday:
NIGERIA-FRANCE (live) 7:45 am on ESPN2
GERMANY-CANADA (live) 10:30 am on ESPN

MONDAY, June 27
JAPAN-NEW ZEALAND (live) 7:45 am on ESPN
MEXICO-ENGLAND (live) 10:45 am on ESPN

You can download the Women’s World Cup TV Schedule, 2011 and import it into your calendar using the Comma Delimited setting in Outlook, Google, Yahoo or Apple.

As the Wall Street Journal notes, it’s likely the German’s to lose.

The Germans are the class of the sport, thanks to the world’s most sophisticated development program—and they might be unbeatable on their home turf. “It’s just not enough to be athletic and fit anymore,” said U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored the gold-medal winning goal in the 2008 Olympics.

ESPN also offers their take on the game with 10 Reasons to Watch the Women’s World Cup:

The U.S. may be the world’s No. 1 according to the FIFA rankings, but the team suffered the indignity of being last to qualify for the World Cup as it was forced to straggle in via playoff. The squad has only occasionally impressed in recent warm-up games, appearing strangely unsyncopated as if all too aware it hasn’t won the tournament since 1999.

The US Group stage games are listed below
June 28 Korea DPR 10:45 a.m. Rudolf-Harbig Stadium; Dresden
July 2 Colombia 10:30 a.m. Rhein-Neckar-Arena; Sinsheim
July 6 Sweden 1:30 p.m. World Cup Stadium Wolfsburg; Wolfsburg
All games will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN3.com and Univision

There are 13 players on the U.S. roster who will be participating in their first Women’s World Cup, but eight of them represented the USA in at least one FIFA youth Women’s World Cup Tournament and five of them played in the 2008 Olympic Games. Rachel Buehler played in the 2002 and 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cups. Amy Rodriguez, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn played in the 2004 U-19 event. Rodriguez also played in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup along with Lauren Cheney, Kelley O‘Hara and Tobin Heath. Alex Morgan was one of the stars of the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, helping the USA to the title. Heather Mitts, Buehler, Rodriguez, Cheney and Heath were a part of the USA’s 2008 Olympic gold medal team. Mitts was also on the USA’s 2004 Olympic gold medal winning side. Only back-up goalkeeper Jill Loyden, defender Ali Krieger and midfielder Lori Lindsey have never participated in a world championship at any level.

The U.S. currently sits in second place in Group D behind New Zealand on goals scored. The Young All Whites powered to a 4-1 win against Uzbekistan earlier in the evening. The U.S. can secure a berth to the second round with a win against Uzbekistan on Wednesday, June 22. That match, also from Estadio Torreon, kicks off at 3 p.m. local time (4 p.m. CT) live on Galavision and ESPN3, and on tape delay on ESPNU.