U.S. World Cup worries grow, draw with Saudis in last tuneup – U.S. Soccer
MEXICO CITY (AP) — U.S. Soccer is on the verge of adding a new star in the CONCACAF Gold Cup to its ranks.
The Mexican club Tigres UANL announced Tuesday morning that it has signed midfielder Carlos Bocanegra from Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo. Bocanegra will join the U.S. team for a friendly against Saudi Arabia on Friday and a match in Mexico City on Sept. 15. Bocanegra, 25, joins Tigres from Chivas de Guadalajara, which has lost the MLS Cup final during his five seasons with the western-based club.
The MLS veteran is ranked 14th in MLS’s top 25 and was a three-time MLS Cup finalist with Guadalajara. Bocanegra, who was born in the U.S., scored 15 goals and notched four assists in 23 Liga MX seasons, including helping Chivas to the 2009-10 Clausura title.
Bocanegra has been in Mexico only during the MLS spring season, but played in a friendly for Olimpia before the Mexican championship match last month in Monterrey.
The U.S. team is on the verge of adding another MLS veteran. The U.S. Soccer Federation is in advanced talks with the Los Angeles Galaxy about bringing the Galaxy’s Brazilian midfielder Marcelo Sarvas to the Gold Cup, a federation spokesman said.
Sarvas is one of the most accomplished players in MLS and has been part of three U.S. teams that claimed the gold-medal victories at the 1994 World Cup, 1998 World Cup and 2002 World Cup. The Brazilian midfielder started his career with Corinthians in Sao Paulo and went on to make 11 appearances for the national team, scoring a goal and tallying four assists. He has played in three World Cups.
The U.S. team’s leading scorer this year