Steven Gerrard's Goal Against the USA

Steven Gerrard put in a Man of the Match performance tonight at Wembley, thrusting himself even more into the permanent captaincy discussion.

Above is his well-worked goal that made it 2-0, set up by his good friend and perhaps soon-to-be Liverpool teammate Gareth Barry. It is quality of the highest degree, and a microcosm of England's superiority throughout the entire game.

As a bonus, take a look at this goal also scored by Chedwyn Evans, who is currently on loan from Manchester City at Norwich City, where he scored 10 goals in 28 league games this season. Evans made his senior international début for Wales in their 1-0 victory tonight over Iceland after scoring 9 goals in 8 U-21 matches, and in my experience, there aren't too many 19-year olds who can score goals like this.

What a way to remember his first game with the big boys:

England 31-Man Provisional Squad Announced

Fabio Capello has announced a provisional 31-man roster for England's upcoming friendlies against the United States on May 28 at Wembley and at Trinidad & Tobago on June 1, likely in Port of Spain.

He didn't give any of his big guns a break after the long, grueling Premiership campaign -- Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, and Wayne Rooney were all picked. However, there's also a few relatively inexperienced players and several young up-and-comers in the squad, so Capello wisely opted for a nice mix in this group before he trims it down closer to the end of the month.

Here's the full roster:

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Chris Kirkland (Wigan), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders: John Terry, Wayne Bridge, and Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry and Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Joe Cole and Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), David Bentley (Blackburn), Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Phil Jagielka (Everton)

Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth)

If it was up to me, I'd drop seven players from this group of 31 -- Bridge, Kirkland, Wheater, Downing, Jagielka, Jenas, and Ashton. Recognizing Ashton and Jagielka, in particular, and their contributions to their respective clubs this year was a great move by Capello, but I just don't think they have a place in the full England team right now.

I was pleased to see Joe Hart on this roster; he's had a fantastic first season in the Premiership. Glen Johnson's inclusion was much deserved, and of course, my man Ashley Young is in the team as well and that was good to see.

This is certainly a formidable squad, one that should come away with two wins in these friendlies. With that said, the US certainly won't be a pushover and I could see an exciting draw in that game, maybe 2-2.

US National Team to Play England

It was first announced a couple days ago, and the US men's national team will play a friendly against England at Wembley on May 28.

It's good to see that USSF and coach Bob Bradley are scheduling big-name opposition for the US. Playing against some of the world's better teams is something that the US doesn't get to do in CONCACAF and in the long run, especially for World Cup 2010 and beyond, it is important to face countries like England, even if it is just in exhibitions.

Playing smaller countries inside CONCACAF, especially on US soil, and other relative lightweights like the US had done previously under former coaches Bruce Arena and Steve Sampson, doesn't help the US develop as a soccer nation. It's easy to beat Cuba or Guatemala and Canada; those are teams that the US isn't going to see in the World Cup and ultimately, that should be the focus in this country, not smaller tournaments like the Gold Cup and Confederations Cup.

You have to play tough opponents to prepare for the World Cup and the US has done that recently. In the past six months, the US has played games in Switzerland (1-0 victory), South Africa (1-0 victory), against Sweden (2-2), and against Mexico in a pro-Mexican environment (2-2), and will play in Poland, in England, in Spain, and possibly against Argentina in the near future. These are the type of games in which the US can improve and allow their players to get some much-needed significant international experience.

Playing England will be a good test for the Americans, competing in front of a huge crowd in a country with little respect for soccer in the States. I think England will benefit as well; surely the US is a step above the likes of Andorra, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, three of England's competitors in World Cup 2010 qualifying.

Americans on Display in Fulham-Everton Match

I kept hearing the Star-Spangled Banner in my head during Fulham's critical 1-0 victory over Everton today as six Americans, five of whom currently still play for the national team, took part in the game. Kasey Keller, the US all-time leader in wins and shutouts, posted another of each at the club level for Fulham and his opposite number, Tim Howard, the present and future in goal for the national team, only conceded one goal.

Who scored the goal for the Cottagers? None other than Brian McBride, the only American ever to score in more than one World Cup. McBride was replaced late in the game by another American, Clint Dempsey, who has arguably been Fulham's best player all season. McBride's goal was straight out of his personal scrapbook, a trademark header in front of the net that didn't look pretty, but got the job done.

Carlos Bocanegra also came on as a substitute for the home team and didn't acquit himself too badly, and Eddie Johnson started the game alongside McBride up front and had a few chances.

Fulham desperately needed the three points today and they got them, moving themselves to within reach of safety, something I predicted for this club before the season started. Everton, on the other hand, dropped points they couldn't afford to drop with Portsmouth and Aston Villa charging hard for 5th place behind them, and the Toffees' schedule gets considerably trickier in the next few weeks.

One thing I know is the fortunes of both Fulham and Everton depend largely on the Americans on both clubs' rosters. Tim Howard is going to have to come up big in goal for Everton, which, to be fair, he has done all season, and Fulham will be in dire need of goals down the stretch, something Johnson, McBride, and Dempsey are all capable of providing.

US Squad for South Africa Friendly

A fairly veteran group of players was picked by US men's national team coach Bob Bradley for his team's friendly in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 17th. It's a squad comprised largely of European-based players, partly because the MLS season doesn't end until the 18th and partly because it's going to be those guys who make up the core of the team when World Cup qualifying starts next year. There are a few inclusions that I'm extremely pleased to see and I'm hoping they'll get a chance to play (Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, and Jonathan Bornstein, for starters). More domestic-based players will also be added within the coming days.

Here's a breakdown of the current squad by position:

Goalkeepers (2): Tim Howard (Everton), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA)

Defenders (5): Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (AaB Aalborg), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96)

Midfielders (7): Freddy Adu (Benfica), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County)

Forwards (3): Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Jozy Altidore (Red Bull New York), Clint Dempsey (Fulham)

Of course, you can make the argument that Donovan and Dempsey are more midfielders than forwards, so that leaves Altidore as the only true striker on the roster (for now). As I said, more players will be added in the very near future, but one guy who normally would be in this squad that almost certainly won't be is Taylor Twellman, as his New England Revolution will play Houston in the MLS Cup the day after the US-South Africa game. I'm not sure who Bob Bradley what strikers (if any) Bob Bradley will call up but you can bet that he won't stick Altidore up there by himself.