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The U.S. men's national team has called in Chicago Fire striker Chris Rolfe and Columbus Crew midfielder Brian Carroll for Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago.They have replaced Robbie Rogers and Pablo Mastroeni, who both suffered injuries with their club teams on Sunday.

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With a budding career in Europe and increasing role with the U.S. national team taking up his thoughts, you wouldn't blame Jozy Altidore if he didn't have time to think about the club where it all began.

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New England's quest for an elusive MLS Cup title took a major hit on Saturday after the Revs lost Steve Ralston for the season with a broken right leg.

The broken right fibula suffered by Ralston came after a clumsy challenge from Herculez Gomez during New England's 1-0 loss to Kansas City on Saturday.

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You wanted to see the youngsters and now you will see the youngsters.

U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley has called in a very young squad for Wednesday night's world Cup qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago and we should see a very interesting lineup taking the field.

Good evening folks. Tonight is the night the U.S. men's national team can clinch its place in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying by beating Cuba at RFK Stadium tonigh (7pm, ESPN Classic/Galavision).

The Cubans have yet to win a match and come into this match missing two players who have disappeared and have defected.

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With a crisp and chilly breeze blowing at his back, Juan Carlos Osorio rubbed his hands together and revealed a big grin as he declared just how excited he is for tonight's match against Real Salt Lake.

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It was about 10 months ago when most U.S. national team fans first saw or heard about Carlos Martinez.

The young Under-17 national team player wowed spectators with his two game-winning goals in last winter's Nike Friendlies and eager and overzealous fans began penciling him in as one of the potential stars of the national team program even though he was just 15 at the time.

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When the U.S. men's national team takes on Cuba on Saturday there is a very good chance that Brian Ching will be starting up top for the Americans.

That doesn't sit to well with U.

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Major League Soccer's winless streak in CONCACAF Champions League is finally over after Dwayne DeRosario played the role of hero for the Houston Dynamo yet again.

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Look what team has shown up and crashed the party for title contenders. None other than Chivas USA.

Last year's Western Conference regular season champions struggled through most of this year with injuries and the departure of Brad Guzan, but suddenly things have started to come together for the Goats.

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The U.S. men's national team is in Washington D.C. this week preparing for Saturday's CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Cuba and while there are several young standouts in the 23-man camp, you still get the feeling that Bob Bradley will stick with the veterans at least one more time.

Somebody finally stopped the Montreal Impact and it figures that it would be another Canadian team to do it.

The Vancouver White Caps ended Montreal's dream USL season with a 2-0 victory that helped give Vancouver a 2-1 series aggregate victory in the USL playoff semifinals on Sunday.

First-half goals from Jeff Clark and Eduardo Sebrango provided the margin of victory for Vancouver, which received a shutout from goalkeeper Tyler Baldock, who made his first start of the season in place of suspended goalkeeper Jay Nolly.

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If you think that Jose Francisco Torres' decision to play for the U.S. national team instead of Mexico didn't have an impact south of the border, think again.

Not only did the Mexican national team actively recruit Torres at the same time as the United States, Mexico also attempted to convince Torres to change his mind even after Torres was named to the U.

Those of you who interested in the progress, or lack of progress, being made by Major League Soccer's player development initiatives should give a read to my most recent ESPN.com piece, which focuses on the program.

If you haven't been keeping track, this year was the first year MLS teams have been eligible to start signing players straight from their academies.

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When Colombian midfielder Juan Toja left FC Dallas for Steaua Bucharest via transfer this summer, the transaction went relatively ignored, overshadowed by the reports and rumors surrounding Kenny Cooper's potential departure, as well as other MLS transfers in the works.

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If you missed out on having any fantasy players in the Colorado-New York Red Bulls goal-fest last week, don't fret. More goals should be on the way.

With four weeks remaining in the MLS regular season, there are still opportunities for you to rack up on the fantasy points.

It was a bit of a harrowing day for Columbus Crew fans on Tuesday amid reports that an ownership group that has been trying to land an expansion team in Las Vegas was buying a piece of the Crew. The speculation started to bubble and fear began creeping in about the idea of the Crew eventually leaving Columbus and moving to Las Vegas.

The Houston Dynamo scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of its match against UNAM Pumas on Wednesday, but still wound up needing a second-half equalizer to salvage a point in a wild 4-4 tie in CONCACAF Champions League action on Tuesday night in Mexico.

Kei Kamara and Craig Waibel scored two goals apiece for the Dynamo, which dropped to 0-0-2 in Champions League play.

The United Soccer League named it's All-League Teams on Tuesday. I know I don't report nearly as much about the USL as I should, especially given the league's recent success in the U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League, but here is a chance to get a look at the best the USL has to offer.

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With the MLS schedule for September now over, it is time for members of the media to submit their votes for MLS player of the month.

The only problem is that this month, perhaps more than any other month this season, picking the best player for the month is very difficult because there isn't an obvious choice.

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Yes, I will admit it. I thought the MLS Western Conference was toast, a collection of speed bumps, a series of rest stops on the way to legitimate soccer in the stronger Eastern Conference.

Big, bad Brad Friedel posted another victory last weekend as he and Aston Villa kept on rolling.

Friedel was one of few bright spots for Americans Abroad last weekend. How bad were things? Consider this linep of Americans:

------------------------------Jozy Altidore-----------------------------

DaMarcus Beasley-----------Freddy Adu-------------Clint Dempsey

---------------------Michael Bradley---Maurice Edu------------------

Heath Pearce------Jay DeMerit----Jonathan Spector---Frank Simek

-------------------------------Brad Guzan------------------------------

Like that team?

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Just plain ugly.

There's no other way to describe the performance by the Red Bulls on Saturday night. The offense finally woke up, scoring four goals and provided some glimpses of the quality that has long been expected of it, but on this same night the normally-reliable defense played the worst 45 minutes a defense has ever played in club history.

So it's the day after the Los Angeles Galaxy's awful 3-1 loss to Chicago on Thursday and you're probably wondering where the Galaxy will go from here. I can tell you where at least one of their players is.

None other than David Beckham is in New York City today along with wife Victoria to promote their fragrance lines.

This is one of those weekends that make you happy to be a soccer fan.

One of those weekends when the stars align and the European soccer schedules come together to give you a full menu of intense match-ups and can't-miss rivalries. It is Derby Weekend this weekend, with Milan, Liverpool and Barcelona treating us to the best their cities have to offer.

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Wouldn't you know it. After three months off, You Write the Caption has made a strong comeback, with this week's entry drawing a new record for submissions entered.

Let's face it, the above photo of Josh Wicks can't help but inspire the comedy writer in all of us.

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Wouldn't you know it. After three months off, You Write the Caption has made a strong comeback, with this week's entry drawing a new record for submissions entered.

Let's face it, the above photo of Josh Wicks can't help but inspire the comedy writer in all of us.

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The 2008 season isn't over, but with just a few games remaining in the regular season, I don't think it's too early to start looking at some of the bigger trades in MLS and how they have shaken out.

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The 2008 season isn't over, but with just a few games remaining in the regular season, I don't think it's too early to start looking at some of the bigger trades in MLS and how they have shaken out.

The Los Angeles Galaxy just flat-lined. Coded. Went into cardiac arrest.

You don't need to watch Grey's Anatomy or ER, or be a doctor, to know the medical terms for what happened to the Galaxy's playoff hopes last night. An embarrassing 3-1 loss to Chicago all but squashed LA's faint playoff hopes less than a week after a promising win against D.

The Los Angeles Galaxy visit Toyota Park tonight to take on the Chicago Fire in what amounts to a must-win match if LA hopes to resurrect its faint playoff hopes. The Fire will be looking to avoid a three-match losing streak, and a three-match skid against Western Conference opponents at that.

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Whether you are an MLS coach or a Fantasy MLS player, you both know that time is running out on this season.

The chances for gaining points are dwindling and the opportunities to move up the standings are more and more precious.

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Whether you are an MLS coach or a Fantasy MLS player, you both know that time is running out on this season.

The chances for gaining points are dwindling and the opportunities to move up the standings are more and more precious.

Good morning folks. It is time for the latest portion of the most recent Q&A session. There was a wide variety of questions this time around, including some about the U.S. national team, some about MLS, and the popular "Who are the best players in the world" question. I provide my Top 11 players list in the world, in the EPL and MLS, with Rio Ferdinand earning a place on the first two lists.

Good morning folks. It is time for the latest portion of the most recent Q&A session. There was a wide variety of questions this time around, including some about the U.S. national team, some about MLS, and the popular "Who are the best players in the world" question. I provide my Top 11 players list in the world, in the EPL and MLS, with Rio Ferdinand earning a place on the first two lists.