Bocanegra, Rennes cruise to victory

National team captain Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes won comfortably over Grenoble today by a score of 4-0. Les Rouges et Noirs scored 3 goals in the opening 20 minutes, giving Bocanegra and the rest of the backline plenty of security. Bocanegra played the full 90 minutes, as Rennes move up to third place in the Ligue 1 table, four points behind reigning champions Bordeaux.

Elsewhere in France, Charlie Davies played 90 minutes for Sochaux in their match against Valenciennes. Sochaux got off to a promising start, scoring off a corner kick just 3 minutes in. Unfortunately, the Valenciennes attack proved to be quite potent on the day, burying 5 goals en route to a 5-2 victory. Sochaux are in 13th place, but just 2 points clear of the relegation spots at this early stage in the season.

In Germany, Michael Bradley was an unused substitute in Borussia Monchengladbach's 4-2 loss to Hoffenheim. Bradley, who was a stalwart for 'Gladbach last season, has found playing time hard to come by this season, which has some national team fans concerned.

Steve Cherundolo captained Hannover 96 in their 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund. He played the full 90 minutes and was given a yellow card late in the match. The long-time Hannover defender will be looking to turn in impressive performances in the Bundesliga in hopes of winning back the starting right back spot for the USMNT from West Ham's Jonathan Spector. Spector, meanwhile, was an unused substitute in West Ham's 3-2 loss to Liverpool.

Jozy Altidore got the start for Hull City against Birmingham and played 64 minutes. The Tigers lost 1-0, and are now in one of the three relegation spots. Many pundits predicted that the Tigers would find themselves in the relegation battle, and it's looking like Jozy and company might have to pull off another miracle to secure safety for Hull City.

Tonight's MLS action will feature a slew of National Team regulars and hopefuls. Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, and the rest of the Houston Dynamo will face off against Real Salt Lake. RSL's Robbie Findley and Kyle Beckerman will look to push for a spot in the USMNT picture with a good finish to the MLS season.

Landon Donovan and the LA Galaxy will host Toronto FC at the Home Depot Center tonight, while hopefuls Jimmy Conrad and Sascha Kljestan will look to turn in good performances for Kansas City and Chivas USA, respectively. With the MLS season quickly drawing to a close, time is ticking for domestic-based players looking to secure a spot on the National Team.