A cocktail of the US MNT training camp and a week with Scottish champions Celtic proved to be a potent combination for Sasha Kljestan. With a big ol’ goose egg in previous international appearances, Sasha sizzled with 3 goals in an international friendly between two quality footballing countries (albeit sans their respective stars).

Aside from Kljestan the man of the match seemed to be the omnipresent Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo). In previous games his performance as a finisher has been underwhelming for me. However, in this game his hardnosed performance earned key free kicks, including the one Kljestan put across for goal number one. His setup for Kljestan’s third goal was simply glorious, leading me to wonder if he can thrive in a setup role.

From the Rapids, Ugo Ihemelu got a cap as a substitute, though he let Dahlberg escape to score Sweden’s second goal.

View highlights of the game, the Bradley/Kljestan interview and Jeff Carlisle’s excellent game summary at ESPN’s Soccernet.com.

Colorado Rapids defender Cory Gibbs has been called to the US National Team’s training camp by coach Bob Bradley, as reported on the official Rapids website. Cory missed out on the 2006 World Cup with a knee injury, and will hopefully stay healthy on the road to the South African World Cup.

Gibbs will be the only Rapids player in the training camp, and we wish him well!