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USA vs. Poland (Running Commentary)

The U.S. national team’s friendly vs. Poland is set to kick off shortly and if you are by a computer and want to follow along you can camp out here at SBI.

I will be doing a running commentary on the match and you are more than welcome to share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match.

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FINAL- USA 3, Poland 0. I know Poland was using several young players but the USA definitelydominated a match they were probably expected to lose. Aside from the forwards, the American squad from top to bottom enjoyed a really good showing. Who would have thought we’d see the day when the USA could beat a European Championship qualifying team on the road by a 3-0 scoreline?

Thanks for following the match here and continue to share your thoughts and opinions on the match below.

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92nd minute- Eddie Johnson with a chance to run in behind the Poland defense and manages to get caught and not even get a shot off.

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91st minute- Dempsey has looked strong? Clint Dempsey?

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86th minute- Clint Dempsey has been basically invisible tonight. The lack of playing time at Fulham is definitely taking its toll.

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85th minute- Benny Feilhaber coming in for Heath Pearce. Let’s see what he can do here. Expect plenty of lineup shifting.

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84th minute- Eddie Lewis is playing great here. Who says he’s too old?

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79th minute- Jay DeMerit comes close with a header off a Lewis free kick.

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78th minute- The free kick was blocked.

And another thing. Where are the "Why is Bradley calling up Eddie Lewis" people now?

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77th minute- Poland with a dangerous free kick.

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73rd minute-GOAL USA. Eddie Lewis with a BEAUTIFUL free kick goal. Artur Boruc had NO chance. USA 3, Poland 0

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72nd minute- Jonathan Spector coming in for Cherundolo. For those of you keeping track, Spector has gone from Nashville to England to Poland in six days.

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71st minute- I would LOVE to know what Poland fans are chanting right now. Sounds like "Sing when you’re winning" but somehow I doubt that’s it.

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67th minute- The best part about this match? Playing an opponent that doesn’t dive and whine and pretend it wants to fight. It’s all business. Makes for a clean match.

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63rd minute- Wolff for Ching, Demerit for Onyewu and Lewis for Donovan.

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61st minute- Here come some USA subs

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57th minute- Eddie Johnson back-pass. DRINK!

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56th minute- Oguchi Onyewu just got owned, luckily the chance went high (was tipped over by Howard).

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55th minute- The Poland fans are in full voice, No "You only sing when you’re winning" going on in Krakow.

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53rd minute- Poland made wholesale subs at halftime but its attack still isn’t clicking.

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50th minute- Heath Pearce with another good play. He’s having a solid game today.

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49th minute- I’ll give Donovan credit for creating that chance and showing some explosiveness. Would have been good of him to finish and show he can score on European soil.

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48th minute- Donovan misses a breakaway. WOW. That should have been a goal.

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46th minute- And we’re back.

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HALFTIME- The Ching-Johnson combo must do better with the chances it gets, though to be fair there hasn’t been a ton of service to them.

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HALFTIME- USA 2, Poland 0. Two set pieces lead to goals as the Americans actually outplayed Poland in the run of play. The U.S. forwards need to do better but it has been a solid effort all the way around otherwise.

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46th minute- Good stuff from Heath Pearce this half.

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44th minute- Eddie Johnson gets a turnover on a platter in the Poland penalty area and can’t convert as his shot is blocked.

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38th minute- New drinking game. Every time Christopher Sullivan says "Fantastic" we all drink.

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36th minute- Donovan’s corner kick was perfection, placed right in front of goal. Poland’s defending on set pieces has been laughable.

And here’s another corner kick for DOnovan.

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35th minute- GOAL USA!! OGUCHI ONYEWU heads home a Donovan corner kick. WOW. USA 2, Poland 0

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34th minute- This 4-4-0 formation isn’t working too well for the Americans (Um, Ives, it’s a 4-4-2). What? There are forwards on the field for the USA?

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32nd minute- Cherundolo with some class defending. He is the best right back in the U.S. pool by a mile.

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31st minute- Great save by Howard after some shaky defending from the USA.

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30th minute- Poland corner kick. Here comes danger.

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26th minute- Nice sequence from the U.S. team, good passes, until Ricardo Clark turns it over.

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25th minute- I’m not saying Brian Ching’s crosses have been awful but Frank Hejduk is back home thinking, "Ching’s crosses are terrible."

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21st minute-No Max Bretos, Clint Mathis plays at Ergotelis, Zurawski plays at Larissa. Slight difference.

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19th minute- Okay, it’s time for the Eddie Johnson back-pass drinking game. I know it’s the afternoon, but why not?

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16th minute- The Americans are winning the possession battle early.

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14th minute– Back to the goal, what was that some folks were saying about Landon Donovan’s free kicks?

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12th minute- GOAL USA!! And it’s Carlos Bocanegra. Take that Roy Hodgson.

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11th minute- Eddie Johnson goes at Poland’s defense…then gets stripped. Looks a bit familiar.

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9th minute- Okay, I’ll say it. I like the unforms.

There’s Heath Pearce getting turned. He’s another one with a lot to prove today.

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7th minute- Bradley looks sharp early on. Ching with a nice run but terrible cross.

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5th minute- I’m wondering if the central midfield tandem of Bradley and Clark will be able to control possession today. The young duo is coming off a shaky game against Mexico but Poland’s central midfield isn’t as strong as Mexico’s.

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3rd minute- I wonder if Ivan Putzki is at this match (For those of you younger than 30, he was an old WWF wrestler from Krakow, Poland).

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PRE-GAME- These uniforms look like club team unis.

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PRE-GAME- Not sure about these American uniforms.

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PRE-GAME- The crowd in Krakow is rocking. This is going to be a great environment and great test for the Americans.

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PRE-GAME- Here is the USA lineup:

—————Ching———-Johnson————-

Donovan—–Clark———Bradley———Dempsey

Pearce——Bocanegra——Onyewu——-Cherundolo

———————-Howard————————-

With all the issues on the left flank it is interesting to see Donovan as an option there.

The Ching-Johnson tandem will be an interesting one to watch. Also, the Clark-Bradley tandem didn’t play too well against Mexico so we will see how it does today.

Comments

  1. Q- ive always been a Wolff believer… he played quality last night resulting in 2 very dangerous fouls outside the box, 1 of which resulted in Lewis’s goal.

    Michael F.- never been an EJ fan…in fact id be the first to rip into him. BUT i did see 1 positive last night from him… he wasnt called offsides at all… he was checking and laying the ball off… not exactly what i want to see in a forward 100% of the time, but then again he left the chances he could muff it up to a minimal… he shouldve netted a goal altho failed… and a couple times i saw him try to take on 2 players in the corner (sorry EJ, but you arent Jozy 😀 )

    all n all EJ didnt shine, but he wasnt horrible… as someone posted above id give him a 3 in the player rankings… least impressive player last night, but again, not horrible… but yes we do need to look else where, until he can prove himself in the EPL/Champions

    Reply
  2. I am so late to this party it’s just not right. But I had to say it.

    EJ is terrible.

    EJ gets stripped of the ball, every time he has the ball.

    EJ can not turn on a defender.

    EJ can not face a defender and beat him one-on-one.

    EJ can out run defenders on long balls once in a while but once he gets the ball all he does is back pass anyway.

    US really needs to start looking elsewhere…

    Reply
  3. I think alot of people are missing how well Wolf played. Active as usual & has the ability to create for others thru the run of play or by getting fouled. Would love to see him work with Jozy.

    Reply
  4. J-

    “Altidore Donovan

    Beasley Bradley Feilhaber Dempsey

    Pearce Boca Onyewu Cherundolo

    Howard

    -replace Adu for Donovan

    -Lewis or Convey for Beasley

    -Nguyen for Dempsey”

    im sure he can play anywhere, but you did make a comment about not playing people out of position. Nguyen is naturally a left sided player… played Left Wing for PSV and played left forward for IU… but like i said, im sure he could play either side…

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    gel65-

    “one more thing,i hate to say it but altidore is the 2nd coming of eddie johnson,if you watch him closely during games he is just as lazy as ej,hes not a true striker only a poacher and can only play when he has a juan pablo angel next to him.”

    by far the dumbest thing ive read yet O.o Jozy is not a solo-forward (what he played in the U23)… the US system is NOT set up for the solo-forward… your comment is CLEARLY based soley around his performance in the U23’s, which he did well enough when the ball actually went to his feet… but when he has to run touchline-to-touchline one cant blame him for getting tired…

    Reply
  5. get with it- i agree i would LOVE to see some goals on the run. i actually made the comment after the game. HOWEVER, just look at our last friendly. the game against mexico saw a throwin that ended up resulting in a goal (not quite a set play as the play was running on LD’s back cross). Jozy’s header off Moor’s cross. and then Demspey’s goal that was called off.. its happened recently..

    I will take any goal the US gets, especially against a side like poland IN POLAND. the fact that we are getting goals against a side that is to be respected is enough for me to not care where the goals come from

    the one thing i want is a PROLIFIC goal scorer… some may argue that LD would fit that case, but honestly id consider him a playmaker before a prolific goal scorer.. i want a forward who has a nose for the goal.. someone who is willing to take the shots rather then laying it off and hoping to connect with a cross… keeping my fingers crossed that Jozy or Adu can fit that case, as we’ve seen both put up numbers in youth tournaments recently..

    as for the game… i thought the US did very well.. yes the goals came off set plays but as i said, ill take what we get…dempsey seemed invisible, but not really his fault as the ball wasnt played to him all that much (it seemed)… LD had a stand out performance, and i say that not being a big LD fan… Bradley played solid, no real mistakes but then again nothing uber standout… Clark had some moments, but were outnumbered by his mistakes (hope he picks it up tho)… the defense was solid all around allowing a couple of mistakes but nothing serious… the up front duo seemed lack-luster, and only improved when Wolff came in (eat it Wolff haters)

    as for feilhaber…. i really hope this kid picks up and improves… bradley went on to talk about how he needs to grow up and become a team player… while i doubt that means he wants him to pass it off rather then dribble, i believe Feilhaber has ego issues… i hope he becomes humble and realize that some people are pulling for him

    Reply
  6. EJ has all the athletic ability & some good skill but at this level you have to be able to read the game & anticipate. He doesnt have it & will be fortunate to apply his trade in the championship or MLS soon.

    Reply
  7. i was looking forward to seeing Benny on the field as much as many of you – i’m really pulling for that guy to succeed again.

    anyway, a quick point about how i saw one of his better contributions: his defense-splitting pass after working his way laterally from [TV] bottom to top. the missed run wasn’t Dempsey’s, it was (you guessed it) Eddie’s. EJ should have read that as soon as BF started toward him. Dempsey actually comes from a deeper position and – here’s where everyone else is right – just runs out of gas trying to get there. unlike Ives and many of you, i actually thought Dempsey put in the work last night, so i can forgive him for not getting there on that run – at least the thought was right. I have a harder time forgiving EJ’s diffidence and/or complacency. someone needs to remind him how much fun this is supposed to be.

    Johnson’s lack of urgency and commitment is, frankly, baffling. if the EPL demands nothing else, it demands those characteristics. as has been mentioned here many times today, he needs to get his head on straight and fast.

    Reply
  8. Say what you will but it was a great overall performance by the entire squad. L.D. was sharp as was our backline and the central mids performed their jobs as instructed. Bradley put together a strong squad that will compete with anyone. Be proud people the US of A is back!

    Reply
  9. Great Win, should have been 4-0.

    I’m not going to lie, I’ve been a Donovan detractor for a while, but he really impressed me last nite. OK, he should have finished the break, but you can’t really take it away from him: he created the the chance basically by himself, he showed he still has good pace, and his technique was solid, barely missing. His service was excellent all game, and he looked confident on the ball. I’d love to see the MLS grow into a legitimate league, but after watching these recent performances by Landy Cakes, I have to think he’d be able to succeed atleast in the bundasliga if not a one EPL, Liga or Serie A….

    But besides that, I think not only did we play well, but Poland played very poorely. They generated basically no chances, and there defense looked very shakey, basically giving away 2 free headers on the set pieces. Also Boruc is supposed to be a worldclass keeper?! Guzan should have gone to celtic….!

    Reply

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