Hello Celebritys

As you should know by now the 2010 World Cup gets underway Friday morning from South Africa. The United States kicks off their campaign on Saturday afternoon versus England, and fans of the U.S. have high hopes for the team this time around. The U.S. has the potential to have a solid showing in this year’s World Cup, but in my opinion their success will depend on three players.

Tim Howard, Goalkeeper- Howard had a solid season in goal for Everton in the EPL last season keeping a clean sheet in over a quarter of his appearances and managing a very solid 70% save to shots ratio. Howard was good for the U.S. last summer in the Confederations Cup and they will need him to be even better this summer if the United States has any hopes of making a run. An in form Tim Howard could carry the United States a long way.

Clint Dempsey, Winger/Forward- The native Texas is arguably the United States most consistent goal scorer behind Landon Donovan. Dempsey has been the second leading scorer for the U.S. behind Donovan for the last four years and netted three big goals in last summer’s Confederations Cup. Dempsey will play out on the wing but watch for him to creep in toward the box for more goal scoring chances.

Jozy Altidore, Striker- Altidore is one of my players to watch in the World Cup this year and I am not backing off of that. I think the U.S. will need the 20 year old, New Jersey native to perform well and create some goal scoring opportunities. Jozy has the chance on the biggest stage to show the world what he’s got.

Obviously the whole team is important, and I am not trying to disrespect Donovan, Onyewu, or any of the others and their skills, but I believe these three will be the key for the United States in the World Cup. It all gets underway Saturday afternoon at 1:30 PM Central Time on ABC.

We are now only days away from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and I officially have World Cup fever. I have been anticipating this for a LONG time and so it’s time to kick off Angry Trey’s World Cup coverage. Today I am going to layout some of the players you should be watching for.

Lionel Messi, Argentina– The back-to-back La Liga Player of the Year scored 34 goals for Barcelona in 09-10 and was the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year. He is arguably one of the most electrifying players in the whole world and Argentina will rely heavily on Messi in hopes of a deep run into the tournament. The crazy thing…he isn’t even 23 yet.

Wayne Rooney, England- One of my favorite players, Rooney was named the 2010 PFA Players' Player of the Year after scoring 26 goals for Manchester United in 09-10 (2^nd most in EPL) and leading them to a second place finish in the English Premier League. The only issue with Rooney at this point is health. He has been battling a nagging knee injury, but expect Rooney to put on a show in South Africa.

Robin Van Persie, Netherlands- The Arsenal striker missed a lot of time during the EPL season but looks to be fully recovered and ready to attack for the Dutch. Van Persie was part of the Netherlands World Cup team in 2006 and scored two goals for the Oranje in Euro 2008. Robin Van Persie has one of the best and most powerful left foots in all of soccer.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal- Over the past few years the argument over the best player in the world has been between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year scored 26 goals for Real Madrid in La Liga this past season after transferring from Manchester United for a record amount. Ronaldo has blazing fast speed and the ability to score from all over the pitch, but he also has the reputation of sometimes being a pretty boy. It will be interesting to see how much success Portugal has in South Africa.

Kaka, Brazil- The 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year is a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo’s on Real Madrid. Kaka was a part of Brazils World Cup teams in 2002 and 2006 although saw very limited minutes in 02. The Brazilian team is built around him and his counterattacking skills so expect Kaka to be a vital part in any success Brazil has.

Jozy Altidore, U.S.A.- Now before you roast me, I know he doesn’t deserve to be in the same group as the others I mentioned above, but he is definitely one of my players to watch for. I love Altidore’s game and I think he will be a critical part of the U.S. team. The United States needs more playmakers and goal scorers and in my opinion, Altidore can be one of them. He sprained his ankle and didn’t play last Saturday against Australia, but I think it would take a lot more than that for Altidore to miss this World Cup.

Honorable mention…

Rory Fallon, New Zealand- Ok, the only reason Rory made it was because we share the same last name. I honestly know nothing about him and have never seen him play but I stumbled across his name the other day. Here is some info from his Wikipedia page:

Rory Fallon (born 20 March 1982, in Gisborne) is a New Zealand international footballer who currently plays for English Football League One team Plymouth Argyle as a striker. He is the son of former New Zealand national coach Kevin Fallon.

This comes in his first game in the English Premier League, on his first touch.

Not a goal, but a very sick assist on the goal. I hope Jozy has a lot of success in England because that only helps the U.S. team. The more players they can send overseas, the better everything will be over on this side of the pond.

This comes in his first game in the English Premier League, on his first touch.

Not a goal, but a very sick assist on the goal. I hope Jozy has a lot of success in England because that only helps the U.S. team. The more players they can send overseas, the better everything will be over on this side of the pond.