Back from Europe and Major League Soccer games, US players gathered on Monday to prepare for this weekend’s World Cup qualifier in El Salvador.
Fifteen of the 22 players in the squad took the field for a brief workout. Six more were due in later on Monday, with FC Midtjylland’s Danny Califf expected to arrive from Denmark yesterday.
“Today, it was about regeneration,” US coach Bob Bradley said. “Of the 15 guys that are here today, I think 10 or 11 played 90 minutes on the weekend, and that’s obviously a great thing for us.”
“It’s important with the amount of time a lot of those guys have played lately to understand what our week needs to be like, and with some of the guys who haven’t played as much we push them a little harder,” he said.
Some players will need a few days to get over jet lag. Midfielder DaMarcus Beasley traveled from Scotland after setting up Kyle Lafferty for Rangers’ first goal in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Hearts.
“It was an hour trip to London and a nine-hour flight from London to Miami, so it was a long day, but it was well worth it coming to the sun in Miami,” Beasley said. “The sleeping pattern will take a good four days, at least for me, to fall into place.”
“These first couple days, I’ll be getting up at 5.30 or 6 in the morning just because I can’t sleep anymore,” he said.
The US team, seeking its sixth straight World Cup berth, opened the final round of the North and Central American region by defeating Mexico 2-0 on Feb. 11 at Columbus, Ohio. The Americans head to El Salvador tomorrow, then return on Sunday to prepare for a qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago on April 1 at Nashville, Tennessee.
Before last month’s match, US players had only two days to practice together.
“It’s nice to have the week before a game, especially with the double fixture dates like these,” said captain Carlos Bocanegra, who came in from Rennes in France. “The last one against Mexico, some guys got in real late Sunday night and then to have to play Wednesday, that was a difficult turnaround. These are a little bit more normal.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tomorrow for the final berth at next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome yesterday. The home team's loss means that Nicaragua finishes No. 1 in the qualifier round held in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to the games. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier yesterday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, finished third, while South Africa placed at the bottom
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