Think you know your U.S. Soccer trivia? Well...try us. We'll see how far back your knowledge of Team USA and U.S. Soccer extends. And who the heck is Jack Marshall? Even the trivia buffs in the U.S. Soccer Communications Department would be hard-pressed to tell you that one Jack Marshall received his one and only cap way back in 1926. Okay, that was pretty much impossible. They get easier. We give you four questions each month, 1 to 4, easy to hard.

Answer #1 correctly, and you may remember the false optimism gained from that victory.
Answer #2 correctly, and you have been following the U.S. Men's National Team for a good 12 years.
Answer #3 correctly, and you have a better memory of the game than the actual player who serves as the answer.
If you answered #4 correctly, you must be one of the three players' agents.

With the U.S. Men's National Team getting ready for Game Two of what is a unique three-game set of match against high quality opponents -- Feb. 13 @ Italy, March 27 @ Germany and April 17 @ Ireland -- in three months. With that in mind, this month's trivia pertains to the U.S. Men's National Team's history in friendlies in Europe across the last 12 years. 

Questions:
Q1 (Difficulty level 1 of 4): Excluding the match versus Italy, who was the last opponent the U.S. MNT played in Europe less than six months before a World Cup?
Q2 (2 of 4): Has the U.S. ever played in Germany before?
Q3 (3 of 4): Who is the only player in the current U.S. Men's National Team pool to have been in the starting lineup the last time the U.S. played in Dublin, Ireland (on April 29, 1992)?
Q4 (4 of 4): Which three players in the current U.S. Men's National Team pool earned their first cap in a friendly in Europe?

scroll down to see the correct answers...

Answers:
A1: Austria (on April 22, 1998, a 3-0 U.S. win in Vienna).
A2: Yes. The U.S. MNT faced East Germany in Berlin on March 28, 1990, falling 3-2 prior to Italia ‘90.
A3: Goalkeeper Tony Meola, who was in the nets for a 4-1 loss.
A4: John O'Brien (April 22, 1998 @ Austria), Earnie Stewart (December 19, 1990 @ Portugal), Brian West (April 26, 2000 @ Russia). 

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)

***HOW'S OUR WRITING?***
We want feedback. No, really. Positive, negative, indifferent - we take all kinds. Reach us at: centercircle@ussoccer.org.