Good afternoon folks. The USA-Spain match will be kicking off shortly and today should offer us a very good look at whether the Americans can rebound from last week’s awful showing against England.
The USA lineup for today’s match should make USA fans happy because we will finally get to see Freddy Adu start against a top opponent. Check out the starting lineup after the jump.
I will be doing a live commentary during the match so if you want to follow along, and don’t care about having the result spoiled for the tape-delayed showing of the match, then be sure to stay here for the latest on the match. Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section.
Stay here for all pre-game discussions and for the match itself.
Enjoy the action.
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FINAL- Spain 1, USA 0. Spain didn’t overrun the Americans like England did, but never looked too troubled, although Freddy Adu certainly was a handful in the first half.
What I liked today: Adu, Bocanegra, Howard, Eddie Lewis, Bradley in the first half.
What I didn’t like today: Eddie Johnson, Bradley in the second half, Eddie Johnson’s first touch, Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson’s shot, Josh Wolff’s cameo, Eddie Johnson’s headers.
Share your thoughts on the match below.
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90th minute- Johnson get a nice ball into the area, but then sends a shot on goal so week that any goalkeeper older than 10 in the world would have saved it.
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90th minute- Bradley botches a header on a nice ball in from Hejduk. Bradley’s been playing on fumes for about 20 minutes. Not sure why he’s still out there.
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88th minute- "Eddie Johnson has had a good couple of games here." I wouldn’t go that far.
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87th minute- Mastroeni for Dempsey.
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82nd minute- Michael Bradley looked tired on the goal. Can’t imagine we’ll see Bradley against Argentina after his second length performance in a week.
SAVE GuZAN on a hard shot from Senna.
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80th minute- Fabregas sent the ball to Xavi, who touched it beautifully into space, raced around Onyewu, fought off a challenge from Hejduk and beat Guzan easily. Nice run.
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79th minute- GOAL SPAIN. WOW. What a great dribble, run and shot by Xavi. Beautiful. Spain 1, USA 0.
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78th minute- Josh Wolff is in for Dempsey. Let’s see if he can make up for that England debacle.
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77th minute- Michael Bradley draws a yellow after grabbing Xavi after turning the ball over. Bad turnover by Bradley and not a great backpass from Johnson.
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75th minute- Xavi with a hard shot that Guzan smothers easily.
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74th minute- The Americans look like they’re holding on for the tie. Pretty disappointing right now and Spain looks like it will find a goal any minute.
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71st minute- Spain again but the centering pass is cleared out for a corner by Onyewu.
I wonder if we’ll see any more USA subs. The team could use some fresh legs.
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70th minute- Spain attacks again but Beasley tracks back to break up a great chance from Cazorla.
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68th minute- Spain with a great passing sequence but Senna’s shot hits the right post. USA got lucky there.
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66th minute- I tell you what. Heath Pearce has held up well and I think he has made the left back spot his for the forseeable future.
Spain corner leads to a nice clash in the air. Onyewu won out as you might expect.
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64th minute- Looks like Bradley drew a yellow card for a clash with Fabregas. Didn’t see what happened there.
And here comes Spain.
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62nd minute- Bradley with a bad foul, sets up a dangerous Spain free kick.
Xavi hits the free kick off the crossbar. WOW. What a kick.
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61st minute- Eddie Johnson is a turnover machine.
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59th minute- Freddy Adu is missed right now. No ideas in the attack. Looking for Eddie Johnson isn’t working.
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56th minute- Xavi with a beautiful pass, that helps lead to a cross, but nothing for Spain. Spain corner is cleared. Spain’s passing is just so sharp, well, except for the final passes.
Dempsey just got crunched by Marco Senna. Wow, a two-footed scissor lunge. That’s a red card in a regular game.
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53rd minute- Fernando Navarro in for Capdevilla.
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52nd minute- Beasley working from the right, looks good making a run forward. With Eddie Lewis looking so good, I think Beasley on the right flank is a real possibility down the road.
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49th minute- No word yet on whether Adu came out because of an injury or just a halftime sub.
Johnson comes close with a great ball from Lewis in but can’t direct his header on goal.
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47th minute- Torres and Alonso out. Guiza and Senna in.
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46th minute- Guzan in for Howard, Hejduk for Cherundolo and Beasley for Adu.
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HALFTIME- Bob Bradley should definitely insert Beasley for Johnson, with Dempsey moving up top. That would certainly be an interesting lineup, and arguably the best lineup the U.S. team can field without Landon Donovan.
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HALFTIME- Changed that need to be made at halftime? I’m not sure there are any to make. As disappointing as Johnson is, he’s still probably better than the other forward options, though I think we’ll see Jaqua late.
Michael Bradley has had a better first half today than he had against England. Edu looks a bit timid out there, which definitely isn’t like the Edu we’re used to seeing.
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HALFTIME- And we’re scoreless at the half. Spain with tons of possession, but couldn’t break through for the goal. The USA just can’t hold on to the ball, except for Freddy Adu, who looked very good every time he’s had the ball. Eddie Johnson is just not good enough. He made one nice run onto a perfectly-timed Adu pass but scuffed the shot.
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44th minute- Freddy Adu draws a foul. The free kick does nothing and here comes Spain again.
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42nd minute– Spain is passing well but the USA back-line has broken up every final pass.
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39th minute– Too many turnovers from the USA. Spain is pressing but the Americans block every shot.
Eddie Johnson runs onto a long Adu pass and has a shot saved by Casillas. Johnson with a weak shot after a nice run.
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36th minute- Okay, there’s no other way to say it but Eddie Johnson’s first touch is tragic.
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34th minute- Eddie Lewis takes the free kick but sends it just a bit high from about 30.
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32nd minute- Dempsey with a nice little run before being tackled by Xavi Alonso.
Maurice Edu has yet to tackle anybody. He needs to get involved.
Puyol stepped on Adu’s foot on a challenge. Adu looks okay. Dangerous free kick.
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31st minute- Bocanegra has had his hands full with Torres, but has held up well.
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30th minute- Americans doing a better job today of handling the attack, but Spain is a bit calmer in attack than England, which pressured far more.
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27th minute- Spain’s midfield is so patient on the ball. Whenever Spain wants, it can play keep away.
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24th minute- SAVE Howard! Torres with his trademark turn and shoot but Howard smothers it.
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23rd minute- Nice sequence from the Americans, with Adu slipping a through ball to Johnson, but Johnson is offside. Great sequence though.
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22nd minute- Freddy Adu makes some magic happen in the box, sends a dangerous ball in front of goal but nobody is there. He’s the only American player showing anything in the attack.
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20th minute- The USA gets forward in the attack and Johnson tries to take on a defender, but is stopped, not before he tries yet another bad dive attempt.
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19th minute- The USA midfield needs to start holding some possession. It’s tough against this loaded attack.
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18th minute- Spain is dominating possession. I know, not a shock, but the USA defense is holding up and looking better than vs. England.
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16th minute- Tim Howard loses a ball in the area but taps it clear of danger.
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15th minute- Adu tries to force the attack, but loses the ball. He’s definitely being aggressive.
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13th minute- Those of you wondering where David Villa is, he picked up an ankle injury in training.
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11th minute- Michael Bradley with a nice tackle on Fernando Torres in the penalty area to break up a threat. Corner kick for Spain.
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10th minute- Howard with a good save on a dangerous header from Silva off a perfect Sergio Ramos cross. Bocanegra caught watching on that one.
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9th minute- Bocanegra with a floating free kick that leads to a collision between Dempsey and Iker Casillas. Dempsey is called for the foul.
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7th minute- Spain fans start to whistle after their back-line passes it around a bit.
Tim Howard runs onto a ball in the area to break up the threat.
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6th minute- Freddy Adu with a nice dribble run at Spain that draws some cheers from the crowd, but doesn’t get anywhere and drops a pass off.
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5th minute- Spain with a nice sequence of passes but can’t find the final one, the USA looks for the counter but Eddie Johnson loses it.
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3rd minute- Edu looking for Adu turns the ball over with a bad pass.
Spain’s back four is so good on the ball.
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2nd minute- Spain knocking it around a bit, almost a good touch on to Torres but the USA handles it.
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1st minute- And we’re off.
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PRE-GAME- And the ESPN360 has kicked in and we’re ready to go.
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PRE-GAME- So it’s 4:06 and my ESPN360 isn’t working. This should be fun.
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PRE-GAME– Here is the Spain lineup:
Silva———-Torres——–Cazorla
———–Xavi—–Fabregas——–
—————Alonso—————-
Capdevila——————–Ramos
——Marchena—-Puyol———
—————Casillas—————
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PRE-GAME– Here is the USA lineup:
——————–Johnson——————–
Lewis—————-Adu—————Dempsey
————–Bradley—-Edu——————-
Pearce—Bocanegra—Onyewu—-Cherundolo
——————-Howard———————-
Beasley won’t be making the start. No word on whether it’s an injury or Bradley wanting to rest him and have him for the Argentina match on Sunday.
What do you think of the lineup?
I’ve watched up to the 86th minute. Most of the team put in a solid performance. Clearly the guys are tired, but most of them battled hard. Credit to Bob Bradley, he recognized the problems and he did his best to change the lineup and tactics. But you can only lead a horse to water, the team must play confidently. I was very pleased with the performance, we only lost 1-0 to Spain. We fought the entire time. Everyone played weel except Edu. He watched too much. I liked Bradley’s performance, he just ran out of gas in the end. Our back line played like a wall. I appreciated Hedjuk jumping into tackles. he was really just trying to be aggressive. EJ did well enough. I’m extremely pleased with the turn around and the team should keep their heads up after this trip. These games are meant for learning. I only wish two things for next time. Everyone battles, everyone! We play with confidence! Take people on, it doesn’t matter if we lose the ball or the game. Those Spaniards carry themselves in such a confident way. So should we. Good luck Sunday guys. And Pierre, just let the guys rest. Come ON Men you only live once, fear no tomorrow, not your opponent or what others think. Don’t worry about the results, there’s a time and place for that down the road. Make your first goal to set up a fearless, tireless mentality.
and who do you suggest, Josh?
people want to pile on and run off different guys, but it doesn’t change the fact that there aren’t really better options…some of these guys are young, they have their weaknesses, but i’d rather give them time in games like this as opposed to guys like Mastroeni or Twellman.
“What I didn’t like today: Eddie Johnson, Bradley in the second half, Eddie Johnson’s first touch, Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson’s shot, Josh Wolff’s cameo, Eddie Johnson’s headers.”
Ives, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think your criticism of EJ is over the top. Not saying you have to call him the best player on the field, but listing his name four times under “What I didn’t like” is simply out of proportion. Other writers rated his performance quite highly.
http://www.goal.com/en-US/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=723625
i’ve got to say that m. bradley’s positioning has played a role in yet another goal. he was running around in circles when we broke down against england for gerrard’s goal and tonight he allowed xavi to turn and run straight at our back line. i think he should be practicing this stuff with the u-23’s or positioned farther away from our goal. of course, based on that attempt at a “header” at the end of tonight’s match, i’m not sure that the latter is really a good idea. he does some good things, sure, but he makes too many mistakes in the middle of the field (like the wretched first touch that led to the yellow) to be a starter for the national team at that position at this point in his career.
bradley sucks…ej played way better than him today
did EJ hit on Mrs. SBI or something? you’ve been hating and piling on this guy forever…i think you’ve made your point.
he is what he is, and we don’t really have many other options…might be time to start sharing the wealth and picking on guys that you protect, like i don’t know, maybe Claudio Reyna??
pathetic……we should be scared about our future.
we have taken a few steps backwards since our quarterfinal loss to germany in ’02 instead of pregressing.
said it before, let ej develop on fulhams watch now, not the nats.
————-altidore————–
————–donovan——————
beasely——–adu—————–dempsey
—————bradley——————
dolo——-gooch–boc———-????
spector, demerit, pearce, felihaber, edu mastro, cooper and a few others on the bench
-all of those who complain about felihaber, shut up u do not know soccer(he’s one of our most creative players and should be on our roster)
– dempsey needs to step up or bob needs to take him off the field, he’s not the same player he once was bc he’s lost his edge
– bob may need to go bc he has not once fielded a team that can be competative with europe’s premier teams and its scary to see him keep playing johnson and older players as well
Freddy looked the most comfortable with the ball. They should be giving him more time with the senior squad.
Freddy adu will be good. hes what 19. he’ll get playing time at Benfica.
And yes EJ does deserve the blame he gets. In a 5-4-1..hes the main attacker. so he damn well better produce. at least a shot that doesnt go directly at the goalie.
Bradley needs to move on to the next set of strikers because the ones he chose to play today proved that they just cant get it done.
josh – saying EJ is proof MLS is weak is a lame, tired argument. Sometimes he’d get hot and score in bunches, but he never had any consistency, was always a suspect star once he started showing up at practice wearing diamonds. That last year plus, all the smart fans were screaming for MLS to sell high on the GAM.
I’m beginning to have serious doubts about B. Bradley. What’s the logic of giving Wolff all this playing time in these friendlies? He’s a known quantity and he ain’t that great, best days are behind him. Yes he might come in handy at some point in qualifying but why not give an opportunity to someone younger who needs experience. Playing in these games is not going to make Wolff better, but it might for someone younger.
I dare anyone to argue that Spain was actually trying in the first half. They played so tentatively that they made Edu and Bradley look like Gattuso and Makelele. But then they wised up in the second half and started shooting on target at will. Did I mention Spain should have also gotten a penalty kick as well? This game should have been 4 – 0 on the basis of the second half alone. But Guiza is no Villa and Xavi ended up being the hero. Good game from Spain, but they shouldn’t have allowed the US such freedom in the first half. Puyol and Marchena (or was it Albiol?) should have been more vigilant.
Anyone got Player of the Game nominations?
I’ll take Ramos, played great all day, nice passing out of the back, and a terror up the right.
This will offend some, but the more and more I watch the MNT, the more and more I come to the conclusion that MLS stars are not that great. Sorry EJ ripped through the MLS the last few years, and he could hardly make the reserves in the EPL. Freddy Adu looked capable of keeping up with the speed and talent of Spain, but I think this comes from his exposure to higher level football in Portugal. If you are an American with any talent, leave the US, play in a second tier division if you must…the MLS is not going to create the US into a competitive side with Spain or any other top notch soccer power.
I agree with you about Dempsey being what you didn’t like. He hasn’t been the same since the 2nd half of the Premier League season. His aggressiveness seems to be in neutral. Eddie Johnson shouldn’t even be on this team. And neither should Josh Wolff. It seems Bradley wants to save his younger players for the Olympics and just tried to fill out the team with bodies. Johnson and Wolff just aren’t cutting it out anymore.
But I was impressed with Adu as well. I can’t wait to see him team up in the Olympics with Altidore and Rogers. Adu’s attacking awareness is there and its a shame much of the rest of the team didn’t share that same mentality.
Someone needs to youTube Eddie Johnson’s “highlights” from this match for BB to watch. With some telo-strater action to show where EJ is when he receives a ball and where the ball ends up after he “traps” it, dribbles backwards 15 yards, and “passes” it to a back. Then splice in his “shots” on goal for a good laugh. Seriously, who wouldn’t watch this video a million times?
I guess I will leave now….I feel sick.
Dear Royce….I am speechless. By your standard, I should be playing forward for the USMNT – I can pass bacdkwards like EJ all day
if i was eddie johnson and i read ives review, it would totally crush what little confidence i had left.
i dont think he bad, but he isnt the soltution up top for the U.S.
Bradley must go. Why would you take out Adu? Why wouldn’t you bring some real strikers, not out-of-contract players and Eddie Johnson? Why can’t he make any good tactical decisions in general?
We should have jumped on Sven Goran Eriikson and left Mexico with Bob Bradley.
Next thing you know, USSF will hire Hugo Sanchez…
What a waste. I really wanted to see if Adu could create some magic and steal one from Spain. With Landon in a goalscoring state of mind, I’d love to see him running onto Freddy Adu passes.
I’d say the starting backline held their own again, and still deserve to be called our first choice defense.
Eddie Lewis can still bring it, but we really need at least one of Rogers, Alvarez, and Holden to take it to the next level.
There needs to be some way that MB can make runs at the goal off the ball, that’s how he does it in Holland, making that 3rd run. On the first half Adu cut back thru the box, he was just standing outside the box as the ball rolled past Dempsey, he’s got to get into those positions.
i’m going to make a lot of people sick right now, but i think eddie johnson has played really well these last two games. clearly, he should have scored twice tonight, but that being said he’s easily been the most dangerous player on the field outside of adu. i think he’s improving.
also, i think this game shows us that while donovan is still a lock for the US, i’m not sure that beasley and dempsey are anymore, at least in this formation. adu, edu, and bradley are much better for this team than i’d ever thought…
as for backs, i’m still clueless as to why bocanegra is playing. he almost gave away a clear goal in the first half and looked lost for at least the first 25 minutes. i thought heath pearce was exceptional tonight especially with a few long balls out the back freeing EJ. while ‘dolo was in the background in the first half, his absence was surely felt in the second as hejduk was getting abused. i also thought that gooch showed us why he is a champions league level defender tonight, the goal notwithstanding.
I know that EJ is not all to blame, we have issues at every position, but EJ must go for awhile, develop in the EPL.
How will we make the WC now?
i think it was a pretty good display up until the subs (so the first half was good). since none of the subs were tactical, more along the lines of getting players some time, i don’t see how you can blame b. bradley. of course we played worse after the subs. we brought on a worse keeper and a less skillful right back and put in a guy with a surgically repaired acl who’s only played 3 games in the last 6 months for one of our best performers in the first half. then we made our first and only tactical sub and replaced a guy who starts in the prem for a part time bundesliga2 player for the sake of fresh legs. to be fair to dempsey, he was playing on the wing in the first half and chasing through much of the second half – so he was at least as gassed as lewis but had to run until the end.
I swear to god Eddie Johnson must be an absolute BEAST in practice. Seriously. He must score millions of goals in scrimages. Fake out the entire defensive line. Run like the wind and never tire.
Because WHY else would he still be starting and staying in games??
Dear lord, please let Landon Donovan never get hurt again. Please let Altidore continue to develop into the player we think he’s going to be.
I wish Bradley would wake-up and realize that Eddie Johnson is never going to be that special of a striker. He has a horrible touch, and is so slow to set-up a shot. This works in the MLS and when playing against Barbados, where the game play is slow and the defensive talent is okay at best, but against a talented European side…forget it. Also, I can’t stand Josh Wolff he is so overrated, I can’t remember the last time he even scored a goal, and isn’t that what strikers are paid to do.
Forget about Johnson and Wolff, time to bring on Altidore and the other young strikers and get them going.
I’m glad that Freddy Adu was looking good, I think he will turn into a very solid player, he just needed some more playing time at a better level. The US needs some creative playing in the midfield.
IVES! I need you to please tell me how Bradley continues to justify Johnson even coming into USMNT camp, let alone starting?! It is mind-boggling. You, or Jen Chang, of Goff have to ask him next time you interview him. We cannot as supporters continue to watch the team trot EJ out there, as if he is suddenly going to transform from a concrete-booted, backwards passing, weak shooting, timid forward to Drogba. Any other country that cares about soccer would be screaming for Bob to bench him, yet we just accept this. Please explain to me what I am missing?
As a US soccer fan…man im worried about the future of this team…
it seems like every game, some part of the team is bad…the defense, midfield, or strikers. If Bob Bradley doesnt get things together…then we have a good chance of missing out of WC ’10. Mexico can only get better under Sven, and Canada and Honduras are on their way up…and for those of you who say those Canada and Honduras arent better than us…all i can say is any given day.
On the bright side….Altidore is going to Spain! Wahoo!
See ya later, folks.
Eddie Johnson….ugh, sick of seeing him play.
that’s when it’s diculous again, and our (strikers have been diculess, again)
And that’s ridiculous with an “i.” Not sure what language that word is spelled with an “e” after the letter”r.”
If Johnson cant even finish that easy headed goal he was served on a plate, then he does not even deserve to wear the US shirt for a long time.
that is an overreaction. c’mon. england and a slightly disinterested spain squad is still much better competition than anyone i concacaf outside of mexico. ridiculous.
Dominghosa – I sure hope BB gets that lesson, not just that Adu is ready, but that we need him. Even if you argue just on possession of the ball, he’s way better than almost everyone else. He makes good passes, usually the smart one, and nicely dribbles out of trouble (and rarely into it).
Maybe this is a big overreaction to the last two weeks of play, but qualification for 2010 is going to be a loooooooooooooong and difficult road given the weak play of late.
what a waste of a header by bradley
Yet, Domingosha, you still sense that Bradley wont give Adu his chance again.
I want to see what Ives thinks. IMO, you cannot defend Bradley’s tactics for the past two matches. The qulaity of teams we played and our ineptitude at forward positions should not excuse him. I just hope we gained something from all this.
It’s over. Oh, the joys of the first half. When does the second half start? Anybody know?
FIRE BRADLEY IMMEDIATELY, IVES Start an Article on your Boy Daddy Bradley to get the Axe
Hmmm, should MB sit out Arg? He hasn’t exactly made himself indispensible. He’s kind of done most of what I complain Rico Clark and Pablo do…
Eddie KICK the f’ing ball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aren’t the dynamo on somewhere?
We play bad football because we have bad players. The MLS player development model is crap. We have been incredibly fortunate to be able to have the limited success we have actually achieved. Against a skilled team that can possess the ball, we’re helpless because our touch is crap (outside of Adu, Altidore, Feilhaber, Donovan)
ouch. m. bradley must be tired, he couldn’t even get a good header off that service from hejduk. that was terrible.
Fire Eddie johnson!!!
At least B. Bradley can now see the vast difference between a half with Adu and a half without Adu in the same match. I guess. What a waste.
Mastro on. Lets see him take out a forward
Pablo in now… whatever. I’m closing that out and watching 1st half
I’m wondering, does Bob Bradley plan to get some good experience for this team or simply to help European teams as a practice squad? Why players like Wolff and Eddie Johnson?…This rediculous playing to a tie isn’t going to work against these top-notch European squads….A team as good as Spain will eventually break you down as they’ve done here with Xavi’s goal