US Soccer put these up over the weekend to go with the previous “Opportunity Knocks” series.

The USMNT defeated Tijuana 3-0 in a closed-door scrimmage today.  The goals came from Jeff Parke and Will Bruin (twice).  I hope US Soccer puts up some video of the scrimmage online.  But they do have the latest Studio 90 with interviews with Omar Gonzalez and Chris Wondolowski.

Steven Beitashour and Edson Buddle both picked up injuries and will be out for the rest of the camp.

There have been some rumblings of a US-Germany friendly for later this year and it looks like it will be in May in D.C.

Howie posted about Paolo DelPiccolo signing with Eintracht Frankfurt earlier today and Brian Sciaretta nabbed the first interview with DelPiccolo about the move.

Sciaretta also talked to Ryan Miller about leaving Sweden and returning to the US.

Parker Walsh did well enough on his trial that he re-signed with Karlsruher SC through June.

And Charlie Campbell did well on his trial and signed with Ljungskile SK in Sweden.  He joins fellow American Patrick Hopkins.

Philadelphia Union academy player Chris Gomez is headed to Spain for some trials with Malaga and Sevilla.

And finally, Chicago Fire midfielder Corben Bone will be training with Atletico Madrid for a week and a half before joining up with the Fire for the second phase of preseason.

Seriously, this goal was ridiculous.  I have watched it about 40 times today.  It is crazy how much speed it picked up and that bounce was crazy.  For those few that haven’t read it yet, he is the fourth Premier League goalkeeper to score a goal (and it is amazing that three of them came in losses):

Peter Schmeichel (Aston Villa) vs. Everton – October 20, 2001
Brad Friedel (Blackburn Rovers) vs. Charlton Athletic – February 21, 2004
Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur) vs. Watford – March 17, 2007
Tim Howard (Everton) vs. Bolton Wanderers – January 17, 2007

You can also see Howard’s post-game interview right here.

US Soccer announced that George John and Omar Gonzalez have both withdrawn from Camp Cupcake and will be replaced by Brad Evans and Jeff Parke.  The reason why given by US Soccer was “in order to deal with club-related matters”, which makes me believe that both could be headed somewhere during this transfer window.  Where that might be, we don’t know.  According to Ives, John has left the country to pursue a transfer while Gonzalez has a couple loan possibilities lined up.

Brian Sciaretta takes a quick look at the U-20 team, while Connor Walsh of The Yanks are Coming continues their look at the U-23 player pool for the Olympics, this time with the back line.

Columbus Crew technical director Brian Bliss will join the US U-20 coaching staff as an assistant.

It didn’t take long for new manager Gregg Berhalter to find some Americans for Swedish side Hammarby as they have been linked to UNC forward Billy Schuler pending a physical.

According to a report out of Denmark, AGF Aarhus are interested in Charlie Davies and Chris Wondolowski.

For those of you like myself that wondered why Robbie Findley was pulled out of Nottingham Forest’s game after six minutes this past weekend, it was due to a shoulder injury that probably will need surgery this summer.

I know three things in life: Death, taxes and Herculez Gomez scoring goals while coming off the bench.

I missed this the other day, but the New York Times did a story on Clint Dempsey.   And Deuce joined the twitterverse today.  Speaking of Twitter, why aren’t you following me or Howie (shameless plug time!)?

Speaking of Twitter (Part 2), I tweeted this the other day as some people have been e-mailing me about Blackburn Rovers left back Adam Henley, but his mom chimed in on his Wales/US history over on Big Soccer.  And some more here.

Want to watch all the USMNT goals from 2011?  Sure, why not.

Frank Simek is hurt again, this time it is an ankle.

And Eric Lichaj has returned to training with Aston Villa after missing many months with a hip injury.

Still catching up on life right now, but a couple links from the last couple days.

Tony Taylor scored a goal from the penalty spot earlier today (technically yesterday) in Atletico CP’s 2-2 draw.  Still looking for some highlights.  Speaking of Taylor, Nick Leyden recently talked to Taylor.

Freddy Adu is currently on his way to Europe to train with La Liga club Rayo Vallecano.

While the Red Bulls have come out to the press in recent weeks about not wanting to sell Tim Ream, some British press is claiming that Bolton “are confident” on landing the center back.  The Shin Guardian gives some thoughts on the possible move.

Steven Goff tweeted the other day that Odense U-17 winger Sebastian Clark is going to trial at Fulham according to Clark’s dad.  Clark holds US and Denmark passports as he was born in Atlanta, but grew up in Denmark.   So he is one player to keep an eye on.

Speaking of Odense, Greg Seltzer has heard that the Danish club might put in a January offer for San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski.

One player who will not be playing in Europe in the near future is U-23 midfielder Kelyn Rowe. Rowe, who spent some time last year traveling Europe trialing/training with various clubs, has signed a Generation Adidas deal with MLS.

ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle gives us 12 things to watch for in 2012 regarding US Soccer.

And finally, I sort of think this is a non-story (or at least not a big deal), but still wanted to point it out as others have.  That said, Preston Zimmerman took to twitter to disagree with the current set-up/surroundings regarding the USMNT.

1860 Munich forward Bobby Wood will undergo an operation and will be out for the remainder of 2011. He is hoping to be ready to go for the winter break training in early January.

According to Andrew Wiebe (formerly the beat writer for Sporting Kansas City at MLSSoccer.com), Sporting forward Teal Bunbury will join the growing list of Americans training with European clubs this winter. The 21 year-old Minnesotan will reportedly train with Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League after having spent last winter training with Stoke City.

It sort of straddles rumor-reporting, but Chris Wondolowski is publicly declaring his interest in playing in Europe. He is still under contract and has yet to line up off-season training (he is apparently not on Jürgen Klinsmann’s speed dial), but his public declaration suggests something may be amiss.

SI.com’s Grant Wahl reports on some broadcasting changes for Nats broadcasts: former captain John Harkes, ESPN’s lead analyst for Yanks matches (and Major League Soccer broadcasts) since 2008 is apparently out, due to be replaced by ESPN current studio host Taylor Twellman, a former New England Revolution and 1860 Munich II striker who was a member of the last US squad to win a title. Meanwhile, at NBC/NBC Sports, who will have the rights to four US matches in each of the next three years, Seattle Sounders FC announcer Arlo White is apparently the preferred choice for play-by-play while Kyle Martino, who currently serves as MLS/USA analyst for Fox Soccer, is the frontrunner for color commentator.

I am not going to do my normal sentence or two describing each link as I am tired and on about three hours of sleep, but here are some links worth checking out.

* Dempsey’s career dotted by close calls, fortune [Fox Soccer]

* U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley shouldn’t experiment much in Gold Cup [Sporting News]

* U.S. vs. Spain preview [ESPN Soccernet]

* Transition time for U.S. back line [ESPN Soccernet]

* Chat with Jeff Carlisle [ESPN]

* News & notes for U.S. friendly vs. Spain [Soccer Insider]

* USA vs. Mexico Roster Analysis: Getting Defensive [The Yanks Are Coming]

* Hahnemann: It’s a totally different ballgame [Yanks Abroad]

* Spector hails US squad depth [Yanks Abroad]

* Rogers excited to return to USMNT [Yanks Abroad]

* Versatile Wondolowski ready for next step [Yanks Abroad]

* USA vs. Spain: Three things to watch [The USA 10 Kit]

* So Why Play Spain Again? [The USA 10 Kit]

* US prep for Gold Cup with big-time foe in Spain [MLSsoccer.com]

* Yanks lacking style ahead of Gold Cup [MLSsoccer.com]

* College star Rolfe to trial in Sweden [MLSsoccer.com]

* Nguyen deals with delays, decisions [MLSsoccer.com]

* Albrighton: Lichaj has what it takes to star for Villa [Aston Villa's official site]