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A stern reminder about an upcoming U.S. Soccer-related event, whether you plan to check it out live and in person, on the "tele" or that wacky world wide web.

MNT vs. Ecuador -- March 10, 4:00 p.m. ET (Live on ABC and Telemundo)
MNT vs. Germany -- March 27, 2:45 p.m. ET (Delayed at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and 11:30 p.m. ET on Telemundo)

A stern reminder about an upcoming U.S. Soccer-related event, whether you plan to check it out live and in person, on the "tele" or that wacky world wide web.

At 5-1-1 across less than two months of action, the U.S. team is on a roll.

But will that hot streak be the X-factor that helps the USA earn a first ever win over pesky Ecuador or grind out an unprecedented third consecutive victory over a much-improved Germany?  Those questions  will be answered in the rest of what amounts to be a busy March.

The Ecuador match marks the team's return to Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday (March 10), live on ABC and Telemundo. The U.S. is 0-4-4 against the South American side that finished a surprising second in CONMEBOL Qualifying last year. The four times that the U.S. has tied Ecuador have all come on U.S. soil, including last year's 0-0 draw in Columbus on June 7.

Coach Arena has had unprecedented success against Deutschland. In fact, he's given the USA it's only two wins against the traditional world power (2-3-0 all-time). In his first match against his first big opponent as head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team, the U.S. turned some heads with a 3-0 win in Jacksonville, Fla., on February 6, 1999.

Not 18 months later, what was pretty much a U.S. "B" team picked up a 2-0 win at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico. But the third time may be the charm for Alemania (as they're called in Espanol), considering the U.S. has to travel to remote Rostock, Germany for the March 27 match, which will be televised via tape delay on ESPN2 (10:30 p.m. ET) and Telemundo (11:30 p.m. ET). 

Table of Contents
1) Armchair Midfielder (A look at the new Nike U.S. World Cup jerseys)
2) Word Association (w/ MNT forward Brian McBride)
3) At the Oscars (w/ U-21 WNT/WNT forward Aly Wagner)
4) Queries and Anecdotes (w/ U-20 MNT midfielder Jordan Stone)
5) Life as a Soccer Mom (w/ WNT defender Joy Fawcett)
6) Superstar!!! (w/ U-23 MNT/MNT forward Landon Donovan)
7) Mark That Calendar (MNT vs. Ecuador, Germany -- March 10, 27)
8) "You Don’t Know Jack (Marshall)" (MNT's "European Vacation" Trivia)

Download or print this entire issue of Center Circle (.pdf)

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