USMNT v Paraguay in Nashville, TN

We got to go to Nashville on Tuesday night to photograph the match. It was rainy, and the US gave up an unlucky goal to lose the match, but they looked good both in the sporting sense and in their new Red Third Jerseys by Nike:

Japan United Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Soccer T-Shirt

March 14, 2011 - In the wake of the horrendous earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sports Endeavors Inc. and its partner companies sought out a way that they, their employees and their customers could help in the relief effort.

Sports Endeavors’ in-house design team created a unique Japan tee to help raise funds, increase awareness and show our support. 100% of the proceeds from the sales of this shirt will be donated directly to Japan via the Red Cross. The shirt will be available and promoted through our consumer sites as well as on social media. It is a small way we and our customers can help the people affected by the deadly earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

In the past through similar T-Shirt fundraisers, Sports Endeavors Inc. has raised funds for 9/11 survivors, Haiti citizens and the people of Chile.

Sports Endeavors Inc. is a family owned and operated business and brings a comfortable, friendly atmosphere to everything it does. The company is very active in promoting sport at the grassroots level and has provided quality equipment, apparel and accessories for more than two decades.

Click here to get your Japan United T-Shirt at World Soccer Shop.

Mexico adidas 2011/12 Home and Away Jerseys

The national soccer teams of Mexico have a busy summer of 2011 ahead of them with participation in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in June and July (as hosts), at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup shortly thereafter, at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June and at the Copa America in July.

The Mexican women's soccer has qualified for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany and will represent CONCACAF along with the USA and Canada at the tournament in June and July.

With all of this action looming, the La Federación Mexicana de Futbol (FMF) officially launched the Mexico adidas 2011/12 home and away jerseys (both now available at World Soccer Shop) last Friday in Mexico City.

The new Mexico kits will be used for the first times when  El Tri meets Paraguay in Oakland, CA on March 26th, 2011 and Venezuela in  San Diego, CA on March 29th, 2011 in international friendly action.

On hand  to model the new El Tri uniforms were the Mexico Under-17 team (in the  away kit) and the Mexico Under-20 team (in the new home kit).

The Mexico adidas  2011/12 green home kit features a brand new adidas design that hasn't been  used for any other of the firm's soccer jerseys thus far this year. The black  away shirt shares its design with the Seattle Sounders FC adidas 2011 home  jersey.

Photos courtesy of adidas.

MLS 2011 Season Preview

Major League Soccer’s 2011 season kicks off next Tuesday night when league attendance leaders Seattle Sounders FC hosts David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy (9:30 PM  ET ESPN). Nine months of the best soccer in the United States and Canada will follow culminating with MLS Cup 2011 in November. In a league known for a great deal of parity, just about any team has a chance of being crowned league champions as the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake have proven over the past two years.

To get you ready for all of the upcoming action, here’s the World Soccer Shop MLS 2011 Season Preview.

New Teams

MLS expands to an eighteen team league in 2011 with the entry of longtime United Soccer Leagues (USL) campaigners the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC to the league. The new entrants join the Seattle Sounders FC in the Northwest United States / British Columbia region and will both play in the MLS Western Conference. The Whitecaps become MLS’ second Canada-based franchise along with five-year old Toronto FC. Finally, the Kansas City Wizards have rebranded themselves as Sporting Kansas City.

Conferences

The 2011 MLS Conference setup changes slightly for 2011 because of the league’s expansion. With Portland and Vancouver joining the Western Conference, the Houston Dynamo now moves to the Eastern Conference.  The 2011 MLS Conferences will look like this:

EASTERN CONFERENCE                               WESTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago Fire                                                  Chivas USA

Columbus Crew                                             Colorado Rapids

D.C. United                                                      FC Dallas

Houston Dynamo                                           LA Galaxy

Sporting Kansas City                                     Portland Timbers

New England Revolution                              Real Salt Lake

New York Red Bulls                                       San Jose Earthquakes

Philadelphia Union                                       Seattle Sounders FC

Toronto FC                                                       Vancouver Whitecaps FC

League Changes

Playoffs

With more teams and a growing fanbase, MLS has added another round and two more teams to its playoffs. This is the league’s explanation of how the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs will work.

· Ten clubs will qualify for the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs:

· The top three finishers in each conference, based on regular season points (six automatic berths)

· The next best four clubs based on regular season points, irrespective of conference (four wild cards)

· The four wild cards will play single elimination games against each other, with higher seeds hosting (1 vs. 4; 2 vs. 3). These play-in games are part of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

· After the two play-in games conclude, the lowest remaining seed will face the Supporters’ Shield winner in the Conference Semifinals; the other will face the No. 1 seed in the opposite conference from the Supporters’ Shield winner.

The four Conference Semifinals will be decided by two-game aggregate series, with each club hosting one game. The two Conference Championships will be single games hosted by the higher seed. MLS Cup will again be a single championship match hosted at a predetermined site to be announced at a later date.

Reserve League

After a three year absence, the MLS Reserve League will be resurrected. It will feature a 10-game regular season and followed by playoffs. As with the reserve divisions of major European soccer leagues, the MLS Reserve League is designed to give young players development opportunities via regular game action. It will also allow squad fringe players and those returning from injury to see playing time.

MLS rosters will be expanded from 26 to 30 players to now that the Reserve Division is back. Six of the roster spots are designated for players 24 years old and younger. Finally, MLS club’s academy players and those on trial will be allowed to suit up in for reserve teams.

Major Transfers

MLS didn’t see any signings of the magnitude David Beckham or Thierry Henry this offseason. Nevertheless there were signings of several proven internationals, including Mexico’s Omar Bravo by Sporting KC and USA’s Jay DeMerit, along with a few major inter-team moves. These are the biggest of the signings and transfers. The player’s last clubs are in parentheses.

Colorado Rapids: Sanna Nyassi (Seattle Sounders FC)

Columbus Crew: Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas)

Houston Dynamo: Hunter Freeman (IK Start, Norway)

Sporting KC: Omar Bravo (Chivas de Guadalajara)

L.A. Galaxy: Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls)

New England Revolution: Didier Domi (Olympiakos)

New York Red Bulls: John Rooney (Macclesfield Town)

Portland Timbers: Kenny Cooper (1860 Munich)

Vancouver Whitecaps: Jay DeMerit (Watford FC)

Match Schedule

The full MLS 2011 schedule may be found at this link.

Some of the biggest matches of the early season include:

03/15/11: Seattle vs. L.A. Galaxy

03/18/11: Vancouver vs. Toronto FC

05/07/11: L.A. Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls

Where to Watch

Major League Soccer matches will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com (21 matches) , Fox Soccer Channel (up to 31 matches) and Galavision / Telefutura (30 matches) in the United States during the 2011 season. TSN will air 24 matches involving Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps for MLS fans in Canada.

Highlights of all matches can be viewed at the MLS Soccer video website while the MLS YouTube channel is updated regularly with interviews, behind the scenes and on the field match footage and even a look back at some classic MLS matches from as far back as the league’s first season in 1996.

Lastly, to whet your appetites for the MLS action starting next week, here are highlights from last week’s CONCACAF Champions League quarter final meeting between the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake. RSL won the series 4-1 to become the first MLS team to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.

Photo Credits: Getty Images

Argentina adidas Copa America 2011 Home and Away Jerseys

The much-anticipated adidas Argentina Copa America 2011 home and away jerseys have officially been launched. Both kits are now available for purchase at World Soccer Shop and will be used by the team during the 2011/12 international season.

The new kits to be worn by the likes of team captain Javier Mascherano and reigning FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi when the Albicelestes host the Copa America in July were launched online at lacamisetadetodos.com and the adidas Argentina national team Facebook page. Messi and Asociación Argentina de Fútbol president, Julio Grondona, participated in the virtual launch. The images shown in the event were taken by kit designer Martín Tibabuzo.

The unveiling of the Argentina Copa America 2011 home and away jerseys was also broadcast to onlookers via an outdoor big screen at the corner of Florida and Corrientes streets in Buenos Aires.

The home jersey should see its first action when Argentina meets Venezuela in a friendly in San Juan on March 16th. The away kit is expected to be used when the team travels to New York to meet the United States in another friendly on March 26th.

The Argentina 2011/12 home and away jerseys will be available in adidas TECHFIT™ PowerWEB and  Climacool versions to both players and fans.

Photo Credits: adidas