Another one bites the dust...

You gotta love Queen man, you gotta love them.

Nigeria's Jon Obi Mikel joined a growing list of star players ruled out of the World Cup or on the ropes. Recovery from knee surgery did not proceed quickly enough and he has been dropped from the roster.

Teams are busy making last minute adjustments to tactics and plans as key cogs in the machine have been dropping like flies over the last few weeks. On top of that players' dreams are being shattered. Many players only get one chance to play in a World Cup, certainly only one chance during the "peak years" of their career. Some of the big names include

Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast - not officially ruled out but needs elbow surgery)

Rio Ferdinand (England's captain)

Michael Essien (Ghana, ruled out a month ago)

Andrea Pirlo (Italy, not ruled out but currently back in Italy resting a fresh calf injury)

Jozy Altidore (USA, day to day with an ankle sprain)

Bradley tips his hand?

A lot of speculators have either Maurice Edu or Jose Torres ahead of Ricardo Clark on the depth chart for central midfield. However it was Clark who started and went (almost) the distance in today's tune-up against Australia.

The team on the field was presumably the starters against England with the exception of resting Altidore (see above). In addition, Bradley is nothing if not predictable and he knows what he is going to get from Clark (even if the fans don't agree). The only thing that may keep him from starting June 12th is the knock he limped off with around the 90th minute today.

Discipline Schmisipline

The USA's recent discipline history in major tournaments is pretty poor.

Confederations Cup 09: Three red cards in five games.

World Cup 06: Two red cards in three games.

Now USA fans get to add another name to the list of random card risks they need to worry about in South Africa this summer. Hull City forward and US international Jozy Altidore lost his cool and got ejected for a head butt in the team's 0-1 loss to Sunderland this weekend.

Dumb

Dumb

Dumb

Hopefully this is a "one off" and doesn't become a recurring problem.

Everton 5-1 Hull City

If this is truly the end for Landon Donovan and he returns to the Galaxy for the 2010 season then it was an inauspicious beginning to the day. Donovan was on the bench at the start of the Toffees’ home match against Hull City. For the visitors Jozy Altidore also had to settle for a place on the bench. It was with slight disappointment that I started to watch the match.

Speaking of which, props to both Fox and ESPN for showing so many of Everton’s games the last two months. I wasn’t counting but I estimate having seen 4-6 of them this winter.

Back to the game, a total domination by Everton even with the score knotted at 1-1 early on. Both Donovan and Altidore did make appearances, the former’s being more impressive as he notched a goal and an assist. My thoughts…

Arteta was incredible.

The penalty was about as weak a call as you’ll see. Justice was served with the miss.

Donovan was lively even if you take out the goal, moving well, passing well, involved - basically the opposite of the Holland game.

Altidore had some decent hold up play - by this point I wasn't paying 100% attention as the boys were rambunctious and we were busy getting lunch on the table (leftover pulled pork sandwiches, mmm-mmm).

Netherlands 2-1 United States

Managed to get through the first half live and watched the rest about an hour later.

Disappointed but not unduly surprised. I’ll leave it to other sources to break down the game and just give you a few thoughts on a few players who likely improved or solidified their chances of making the final World Cup roster.

Jay DeMerit and Maurice Edu – both players for me showed why they were consistently a part of the national team prior to injuries last year.

Sconnie native DeMerit was solid throughout in central defense picking up right where he left off during his fine run last summer in the Confederations Cup and qualifying. Jay is one of the top three center backs right now in Bradley’s eyes.

Edu solidified the defense in the second half slipping in to the defensive midfield role. He consistently popped up in exactly the right spot to cut off Dutch passes and showed excellent poise on the ball and in distribution. I think as long as he stays healthy he has to be on the plane to South Africa as well.

DeMarcus Beasley – of course we know that he fell off the map last year following the Brazil debacle and the injury bug. Tonight he wasn’t brilliant or even consistent but he showed flashes of the talent he hasn’t brought to the team in a few years. I have a feeling that he may make the roster after all. Bradley knows exactly what he gets from Beasley and as long as he is healthy it may be a case of going with the devil you know.

A few quick hits...

Another example that the team goes as Donovan goes, if the best player on the squad is not involved they have a steep hill to climb to win games against top teams.

I wish Jonathan Bornstein didn’t have a tendency to make boneheaded plays in key situations.

Jozy Altidore had a few nice plays, the back heel was sweet, splitting the defenders for the final shot was slick – needs to be more consistent (I know Harkes, he’s young, blah, blah, blah).