Decisions of import

The Revolution will have one new player for tonight's US Open Cup semifinal game against the Carolina RailHawks in New Britain, Conn.

But that player will not be Dusan Petkovic, a former Serbian national team defender who was injured (calf strain) in his second training session with the Revolution and is no longer in the team's plans. Instead, the Revolution will have midfielder Sainey Nyassi, 18, who played for Gambia in the Under-20 World Cup.

"[Petkovic] won't be signing with us," said Revolution coach Steve Nicol. "We wanted to see him playing in a three[-man back line] and we saw him for 15 minutes before he got injured. With the figures involved, we thought it was not worth the gamble. He could be out 10 days or four weeks. Given everything involved, it didn't seem like the right thing.

"We brought him here with the interest in signing him. We knew he could play but he didn't get the chance."

The Revolution have had inconsistent results with late-season signings in recent seasons, with proven veterans such as Jose Manuel Abundis and Steve Howey and national team players such as Ricardo Phillips playing briefly and not returning the following season.

Nyassi's teammate, forward/outside midfielder Abdoulie Ken Mansally, has received a work visa and is awaiting an international transfer certificate; the Revolution are expected to announce Mansally's acquisition before the MLS signing deadline Sept. 15, and both Gambians could be available for the Revolution's next MLS game, a visit to D.C. United Sunday.

"They are both young players with talent and good futures in the game," Nicol said. "They have a good understanding of the game and now it's a matter of getting them on the field."

The Revolution lost to the Long Island Roughriders (4-3 in extra time) in their first US Open Cup game at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, on Aug. 1, 1997. But Nicol is optimistic about the venue, having won there in one of his first games for the Boston Bulldogs after moving from England in 1999.

"We've had it checked out and it's a good field," Nicol said. "It won't be the field that will cause us problems, but Carolina might. We have to be on our toes and give 100 percent or they will give us trouble. It's an important game, a chance to get to a Cup final.

"We haven't seen Carolina but we've made calls and spoken to people in the league [United Soccer Leagues] about them. We like to think we are more about what we do as opposed to what the other team does. If we do what we do best, we will make it hard for them."

The RailHawks (7-11-8 in league play) have defeated RWB Adria (4-1), Bavarian SC (4-0), the Chicago Fire (1-0), and the Richmond Kickers (1-0) in Cup play. Former Revolution striker Connally Edozien's 64th-minute goal provided the difference against Richmond in the quarterfinals.

"Connally can get about on the pitch, no doubt about that," Nicol said. "Consistency was the only thing missing. On his night, he can cause problems for us. You can never underestimate him. Plus, he has something to prove."

Jay Heaps, the Revolution's career leader in regular-season games (182) - and tied with Joe Franchino for US Open Cup games (10) - will miss the match. Heaps (calf strain), who plans to return for the D.C. game Sunday, will be replaced by James Riley at right back.

"This is a huge game for [Carolina]," Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston said. "They are going to work and battle and we are going to have to match their intensity. We are the better team, but every time a team plays us in the Open Cup, it's like the World Cup final for them, and we've got to be ready. Plus, they have good players. There is not much difference between their league and the MLS, and some of them have MLS experience."

United front
D.C. United (13-6-3, 42 points) tied the Revolution (12-5-6, 42 points) for the lead in the overall MLS standings with a 4-0 win over FC Dallas Saturday. D.C. has a game in hand . . . Teams from New England, especially Southeastern Massachusetts, were major factors from the US Open Cup's inauguration in 1914 but none has won it since Ponta Delgada of Fall River took a 9-3 aggregate victory over Chicago Sparta in 1947 . . . The winner of tonight's game will visit either FC Dallas (Oct. 3) or the Seattle Sounders (Oct. 2) in the 88th US Open Cup final . . . The Revolution took a 2-0 win over D.C. United at Foxboro Stadium in their last Cup semifinal appearance, in 2001, then lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Country men
No Revolution players were selected for the US national team's game against Brazil Sunday in Chicago. The roster, announced yesterday, includes:

Goalkeepers Tim Howard (Everton FC) and Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake);

Defenders Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), and Jonathan Spector (West Ham United);

Midfielders DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), and Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids);

Forwards Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), and Josh Wolff (1860 Munich).

Stars will be out
A near-sellout is expected for the Brazil-Mexico match Sept. 12 at Gillette Stadium, since both teams have announced near full-strength squads. Milan midfielder Kaká, who scored in a 3-1 win over Sevilla in the European Super Cup final Friday and converted a penalty kick in a 1-1 tie with Fiorentina yesterday, has returned to Brazil's lineup after skipping Copa America. Ronaldinho, who made his FC Barcelona debut in a preseason match against Juventus at Gillette Stadium in 2003, also will be in the Brazil lineup . . . Costa Rica and Honduras will meet in an exhibition at 4 p.m. Sunday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. Listed on the Honduran roster are Italy-based Julio Cesar Leon (Genoa) and Oscar David Suazo (Inter).

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at fdellapa@globe.com