Herculez Gomez will be in the thick of the action as the U.S. Men's National Team takes on Antigua & Barbuda on October 12. Photo Credit: John Todd/isiphotos and U.S. Soccer

U.S. Soccer News: U.S. Men Set for Pivotal Match Against Antigua & Barbuda in FIFA World Cup Qualifying

The U.S. Men's National Team is shooting for six points from two games, and it starts by facing Antigua & Barbuda at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, October 12, in the Semifinal Round of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The match at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, will be broadcast live on beIN SPORT. Four days later, at 6:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, October 16, the USA closes out the Group A play against Guatemala at sold-out LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. Coverage on ESPN2 begins at 5:30 p.m., and the match will also be shown live on WatchESPN and Telefutura. Fans can follow both matches on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and via Twitter @ussoccer.

U.S. Roster by Position - Detailed Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Maurice Edu (Stoke City), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4): Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna), Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC)

Group A Standings: The U.S. (2-1-1, 7 points) is tied atop Group A with Guatemala as both teams are even in points, goal differential and goals scored. Jamaica also has seven points, but sits in third place because of a lower goal differential. With the three nations tied on points and jockeying for the top two spots, no team will be able to secure a place in the Final Round until the last group matches are played on October 16.

Group A Standings

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Guatemala	4	2	1	1	6	4	+2	7
USA	4	2	1	1	6	4	+2	7
Jamaica	4	2	1	1	4	3	+1	7
Antigua & Barbuda	4	0	3	1	2	7	-5	1

Group A Schedule
June 8
USA 3, Antigua & Barbuda 1
Jamaica 2, Guatemala 1

June 12
USA 1, Guatemala 1
Antigua & Barbuda 0, Jamaica 0

September 7
Jamaica 2, USA 1
Guatemala 3, Antigua & Barbuda 1

September 11
USA 1, Jamaica 0
Guatemala 1, Antigua & Barbuda 0

October 12
USA at Antigua & Barbuda
Jamaica at Guatemala

October 16
Guatemala at USA
Antigua & Barbuda at Jamaica

CONCACAF Semifinal Round: Groups B And C
The Semifinal Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying for CONCACAF consists of three groups of four teams each, comprised of the top six seeds (USA, Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Cuba) being split into three groups and joined by six previous group winners from the second round (Panama, Canada, El Salvador, Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, Guatemala). The top two teams from each group advance to the Final Round, with that stage to be played from February through October 2013. The top three teams automatically qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, while the fourth-place team would then play a two-game playoff against the champion of the Oceania region to determine the other World Cup-bound team.

Among the rest of the CONCACAF field, Mexico has won Group B with a 4-0-0 record and 12 points, most recently defeating Costa Rica 1-0 on September 11. Panama moved into first place in Group C with a 3-1-0 record and nine points, two points ahead of both Honduras and Canada.

Roster Notes

• Landon Donovan, Brek Shea and Edgar Castillo, who were originally named to the 24-player roster, have been ruled out of the World Cup qualifiers against Antigua & Barbuda and Guatemala. Donovan has a knee injury and Shea an abdominal strain, both suffered prior to joining camp in Miami. Castillo will miss the matches with a foot injury following an MRI evaluation earlier Wednesday. No replacements have been named, leaving the U.S. travel roster at 21 players.
• Fabian Johnson has been ruled out for Friday's game because of a recent bout with the flu. Johnson will join the team in Kansas City, Kan., to prepare for Tuesday's match against Guatemala. In the USA's 3-1 win against Antigua & Barbuda in the opening match of the Semifinal Round of qualifying, the U.S. faced a similar situation at left back and deployed Jose Torres, who earned his first cap for the U.S. Men's National Team in that position in 2008.
• Michael Bradley returns to the fold after recovering from a muscle injury that sidelined him for four weeks and forced him to miss the previous two qualifiers against Jamaica.
• Five players have appeared in all four World Cup Qualifiers in this round: Dempsey, Maurice Edu, Gomez, Tim Howard and Jermaine Jones.
• Jones leads all U.S. players in games played (10) and minutes (877) in 2012.
• Howard sits in second place all-time for victories among U.S. goalkeepers (33) and third in shutouts (29). He has nine clean sheets in 20 World Cup Qualifying appearances.
• Brad Guzan brings an additional three shutouts in five matches played.
• Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi is in first place in assists (15) in Major League Soccer (MLS) this season, along with Landon Donovan.
• Leagues from eight different countries are represented on the U.S. roster. MLS contributes the most with seven players called into Miami.
• Seattle Sounders FC forward Eddie Johnson and Anderlecht midfielder Sacha Kljestan join the squad for these next two qualifiers and are no strangers to the national team. Johnson, who has 14 goals in MLS this season, has eight career goals in World Cup Qualifying. Kljestan has 34 career caps and has earned two under Jürgen Klinsmann against Costa Rica on September 2, 2011, and against Italy on February 29 earlier this year.
• With his appearance in the World Cup qualifier against Jamaica on September 11, Danny Williams officially became tied to U.S. Soccer.
• Five players on the roster are currently involved in European competition. Jones (Schalke), Kljestan (Anderlecht) and Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland) are in the Champions League, while Steve Cherundolo (Hannover) and Clint Dempsey (Tottenham) are in the Europa League.

USA vs. Antigua & Barbuda

• The U.S. has faced the island nation of Antigua & Barbuda only one other time, a 3-1 victory to open the Semifinal Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying on June 8 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
• Clint Dempsey's 44th-minute penalty kick proved to be the game-winner as the USA went into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
• U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra tied the all-time scoring mark for USA defenders with his 13th career goal, matching the mark set by National Soccer Hall of Famer Marcelo Balboa.
• U.S. forward Herculez Gomez provided an insurance goal in the 72nd minute, about seven minutes after Antigua’s Peter Byers tallied his team’s lone goal.

On the Road Against CONCACAF Island Nations

• The U.S. MNT is 18-11-11 all-time on the road against CONCACAF island nations. This Friday's match will be the USA's first road match against Antigua & Barbuda.
• The USA's road breakdown against CONCACAF island nations are as follows: Barbados (2-0-0), Bermuda (3-2-0), Cuba (1-1-0), Grenada (1-0-0), Haiti (4-5-3), Jamaica (2-1-5), Netherlands Antilles (0-0-1), Trinidad & Tobago (5-2-2).

In Focus: Antigua & Barbuda
Antigua & Barbuda Football Federation
Founded: 1928 (Joined FIFA in 1970)
Head Coach: Tom Curtis
FIFA Ranking: 106
Highest FIFA Ranking: 83 (2011)
Best World Cup Finish: Never qualified

For Antigua & Barbuda notes, visit ussoccer.com.

Related Articles: U.S. Soccer News on SoccerNation