Men's National Soccer Team To Open Copa America Today

Coming off a win at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the United States Mens National Soccer Team opens up group play today in the Copa Ameria, a tournament of North, Central and South American teams. The team, loaded with younger players will play Argentina today, Columbia on July 2 and Paraguay on July 5. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout rounds of the tournament.

The team is young and made up of players without a great deal of international experience on the full national team level, although many have played for the U.S. side at the Under 23, Under 20 and Under 17 level. As U.S. Coach Bob Bradley noted, "This group has many of the faces that could play a role in 2008 and 2009 when our focus turns to our ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa."

[T]here are 16 players on the roster who have 10 caps or less. Fourteen players are under the age of 25, with Eddie Gaven serving as the team’s youngest at 20 years old. There are three members of the group who are entering their first-ever camp with the MNT and will be in search of their first cap: Colorado Rapids forward Herculez Gomez, FC Dallas midfielder Drew Moor and Toronto FC defender Marvell Wynne.

Players earn a "cap" for each international match they play in with the National Team. They must have played in the game.

Of the teams in group play, Argentina will be the toughest draw. Historically, teh U.S. is 2 and 5 against the Argentines. But this young group of players have played Argentina in the U23 and U20 levels and have largely split the games.

There is one other good thing about this squad. Most play in Major League Soccer, with only six of the 22 players coming from European squads. If the U.S. makes a strong showing, it will demonstrate that the U.S. league is starting to produce players capable of playing and competing at the highest levels of international competition.