Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By IVES GALARCEP
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras– It is the worst possible start for the U.S. Men’s National team as they embark on gauntlet that is the Hexagonal Round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, but the good thing about turning in such a flat and uninspired performance in their HEX opener is the fact they have nine more matches to turn things around.
The bad news, however, is that now that they have started this round of qualifying with a loss, their margin for error has shrunken considerably as they face two more road games in their next three qualifiers.
Jurgen Klinsmann turned to an inexperienced back-line, and it looked it, but the loss was about more than some defenders facing the pressure of the HEX for the first time. The squad looked flat and less fit than the Hondurans, who buzzed around them for large parts of the match.
As much as the Juan Garcia wonder goal helped turn the tide, the reality is Honduras was the better team for significant stretches. That said, Garcia’s goal was crucial for its timing and ability to bring the crowd back into it after Clint Dempsey’s strike. Without that goal, the U.S. just might go into halftime leading and feeling good about things.
Ultimately, the Hondurans were more fit, more creative, more energetic and more deserving of the win, while the Americans have to go back to the drawing board and start thinking about some changes because what we saw on Wednesday wasn’t anywhere good enough to take points in the HEX.
Here are some observations from Wednesday’s match:
 THE BACK-LINE’S BAPTISM BY FIRE
When Jurgen Klinsmann chose to start Omar Gonzalez at centerback ahead of Carlos Bocanegra, he committed himself to start a back four that had played in a combined zero Hexagonal Round qualifiers before.
You can’t really pin the loss entirely on the defense, but a look at the Honduras winner leaves some room for criticism of a back-line, and particularly a centerback pairing that looked shaky at times against Honduras.
Klinsmann made the point after the match that he believes Gonzalez is ready for the next level, and that he needs experience in games like these, but you can certainly ask the question of whether Klinsmann might have cost his team a point by trying to gain an inexperienced player some important big-game experience.
Will Klinsmann stick with this inexperienced quartet with the hopes of molding it into a cohesive unit? It sure sounds like that’s the plan, which doesn’t bode well for Bocanegra, who looks like he’ll be phased out unless Klinsmann decides he needs his experience against Costa Rica and Mexico on March.
LANDON DONOVAN WAS MISSED
There is no getting around the fact that the U.S. midfield lacked a spark, and while you can point to the lineup Klinsmann went with (not starting Graham Zusi or Sacha Kljestan), you can also point to the absence of Landon Donovan, who missed his first meaningful HEX game since the summer of 2001, a span of 20 HEX matches.
Donovan is expected to eventually return to the national team, which U.S. Soccer president suggested on Wednesday morning, and given how flat the U.S. team looked on Wednesday it is a safe bet he will be welcomed with open arms.
No, Donovan isn’t the player he once was, but he still brings enough unique attacking elements, and a boat load of experience. It is very difficult to picture Donovan not being in the starting lineup when the United States takes on Mexico on March 26th, if not sooner. While he may or may not need the buzz of playing for the national team anymore, it was clear on Wednesday that the United States still needs him.
THE U.S. MIDFIELD JUST DIDN’T HAVE IT
It was a forgettable day for the American midfield. With the exception of Jermaine Jones’ stellar pass on Clint Dempsey’s goal, there were few bright spots for any of the three players in midfield (four if you don’t count Dempsey as a forward).
Danny Williams was particularly poor, and his lack of playing time at Hoffenheim is clearly taking its toll (though some might argue he has had bad games even when he was playing regularly). Maurice Edu came on and provided significantly better quality at the position.
The game was a disappointing one for Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones, who were nowhere close to winning the battle in the middle, letting Honduras’s playmakers exploit the space in front of the U.S. defense. Klinsmann’s strategy to pack the left wing forced Oscar Boniek Garcia inside and the Houston Dynamo caused all sorts of problems for the American midfield.
Graham Zusi helped provide some energy when he came into the match and Klinsmann will have to think about some changes to his formation and midfield. Whether it is the return of Landon Donovan, or going back to Zusi as a starter, Klinsmann seems likely to make changes for the March qualifiers because can’t be happy with what he saw from his midfield on Wednesday.
CHANDLER’S CAP TYING SAGA IS OVER
One of the few bright spots for the Americans was the fact that Tim Chandler was cap-tied, but it wasn’t exactly a memorable night for him. It’s safe to say that, at least for now, STeve Cherundolo remains the best option at right back when healthy.
HONDURAS CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
When the ‘Catrachois’ turned heads at the Olympics by reaching the knockout rounds and pushing Brazil to the brink, it was clear they had a special generation of talent coming up the ranks.
On Wednesday they showed that quality, and the exciting young players who are driving their new generation. It is safe to say that they have cemented their status as one of the favorites to qualify for the World Cup from this HEX group.
QUIET NIGHT FOR THE U.S. FORWARDS
Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson won’t want to spend much time looking at video of Wednesday’s match. You can point to lack of service, but for someone like Altidore, who has failed to impress with the national team for a good while now, it gets tougher and tougher to accept that excuse even though it’s a legit one.
Johnson was active and more involved than Altidore, but you have to wonder if Herculez won’t return to the starting lineup in March.
WHERE WAS THE FITNESS?
Remember when the U.S. Men’s National Team was always the most fit team on the field? That certainly wasn’t the case on Wednesday. For a coach like Klinsmann, who stresses fitness and health so much, that has to be a serious cause for concern. He will have to think about what he’s doing, as will his players.
Those ‘Catrachois’ were a tough bunch of French Canadians out there today
1) This game could have gone either way.
2) The US needs to learn to keep the ball in the final third for longer and win balls back after a clearance. It’s always one meager try and then lose possession.
3) Bradley was not to blame at all besides his mid-clearance that led to the first goal.
4) The US attacked better overall than against Canada, better approach. Stretched the game a bit and lead some counters which they haven’t done enough of lately.
5) We do need more talent up front and wide. Donovan, Shea, another spark moving forward to give Jozy some more chances to play off of, hold the ball, and create chances. EJ has moments but is not a long term option. Either is Zusi, Sacha or Williams for that matter. All decent, but none of them fill the need here.
6) This was not a shock. No one in their right mind predicted the US to win under these circumstances. Long flights for the Euro players, short turn arounds off weekend matches, a hostile surrounding, you could only hope for a draw realistically. Honduras is GOOD. One the US should have fought harder for defensively, but this was not a performance to be so bummed about. Disappointing for coach, players, fans. But should be easy to recover from.
7) Mexico tying Jamaica at home was the real shock of the day. Not a lot of ground to make up at this point in the Hex. We’ll be fine.
“Charisma takes you places. Character keeps you there.” Prove yoself, Klinsy.
So after reading the comments on the three post-game articles, can somebody explain to me why people think Sunil Gulati should be fired? What do you expect him to do? People piss and complain about the coach every time the team loses. Losses happen. Coaches make mistakes. They all have different tendencies and downfalls, but why is that management’s fault?
Two years ago, people left and right were begging Gulati to fire Bradley and do everything possible to get JK. He did it, JK is here, and now everybody wants him gone again. You can’t piss and moan every year and then get upset when what you wanted all along doesn’t work out. I dislike a lot of JK’s decisions too, but before everybody harps on Gulati, remember what you begged for two years ago.
So you are saying that the people who wanted JK hired and the people who now want him fired are the exact same people? That’s a strange assumption.
I don’t think it’s too farfetched to imagine significant overlap, and it’s not necessarily irrational, given that there’s now actual performance with the team to evaluate.
I think it’s the lack of progress. US Soccer appears to have stalled since 2002, and Gulati is the only individual one can associate with the overall performance over a longer span. Now, that said, I tend to agree with you that scapegoating him makes little sense. The ultimate issue is the status of the sport in a very large country, fighting for eyeballs and attention in a media environment that, more than ever, allows viewers and readers staggering choices, but sees them restricting their experimentation accordingly as it’s easier to saturate oneself in the tried and true.
I never thought Klinsmann’s “we’ve got to get the ‘lower classes’ playing” (paraphrase) was all that insightful or practical (it’s kind of obvious that we need more people understanding and following the game from all walks of life, and the “lower classes” comment evinces a lazy, European way of looking at American society), and wasn’t exactly begging for his hire. He seems like a salesman more than anything else. But the hire was more than defensible. Here was a guy who had won before, understood European soccer, had international connections, and had lived int he US long enough to have some understanding of the structure. Gulati made a very reasonable choice, and shouldn’t be blamed for that.
I actually think we’re on the right track, generally, with MLS battling its way to greater public recognition, and along the way building academies of the sort that will produce more polished players earlier, and, we can hope, building better scouting networks that can find kids who perhaps aren’t plugged into the standard youth programs. We also reap the benefits of the gains of the past when our former players become coaches and better teachers of the game.
Soooo Clueless.
The bicycle kick was sweet but that last Honduras goal was a bad bad display by the whole backline except Fabian J. It was bad and the response afterwards by the Yanks was so pedestrian. The energy level by the US was very timid. I hope someone like Clint Dempsey showed some fire and yelled a little in the locker room.
To give up that late goal in that fashion sucked.
Where’s Zach Loyd!!??
“Catrachos continue to impress”
Very true. Have to say I really like their team. They appear to care deeply about their country and fight for one another. They have a team chemistry and are bought into a common vision.
Sincerely,
Jelous USMNT fan
We used to score on set pieces. Now we have now one playing that takes those kicks. Corners and free kicks, no one on field today seemed prepared to take them.
For what it’s worth, Zusi takes them for SKC and the last corner was good, just missing the finish by Gonzalez. Jones’ corners weren’t all bad. But other than that, completely agree. Bradley had some terrible balls and terrible decisions
i thought the service was pretty decent; we just weren’t getting to the ball.
Bad news/Good news.
We’re in last place in the hex after the first round.
But….
We are 3 points out of first and 1 point behind everyone else.
I can see a lot of people here benchmarking the Honduran roster by the leagues they play in, as a Canadian fan on the back-end of an 8-1 ass whooping, I can tell you a lot is lost in translation there. Even our team looked better on paper than theirs did, it doesn’t mean anything. They had a much better roster than we did, it wasn’t even close.
That being said obviously the USMNT is a fair amount more talented than the CMNT, but that doesn’t mean you guys are going to walk into Honduras and easily take away points. Not surprised they dropped this one, but you’ll still get them at home.
While our players played a bad game it was an away game where Honduras stacked the deck in their favor (field, loud, etc…). There were still a number of things I think we should have done better.
1) An inexperienced defense put together for the 1st time start in a road game!
2) IMO Jones would be better used as a #6 not a #8.
3) Feilhaber, Zusi, Holden type player should have been paired with Bradley as the #8’s. Hopefully by March this will have sunk into JK’s brain.
4) We need some speed options (Donovan, Gatt, Bedoya) either as Midfield wings or as wide forwards.
5) The team needs more time together and a huge infusion of HART…
I hope besler gets a shot in a big game soon. I think out back line if the future should be
LB-Johnson LCB-besler RCB- Gonzalez RB-cameron
Don’t think you’ll find much argument. I’d love Besler to get a shot too. The problem is getting Besler in there at the right time. Gonzalez proved on the road in WCQs is not the time for baptism by fire.
Mexico 0 – Jamaica 0…at Azteca…and we thought we had a rough start.
Chillax peeps – Mexico and the US had off starts. They will both qualify. I am sure no one qualified today or is out of it either.
Best news of the day. And Costa Rica tied Panama…..both great results for the US. That said, the Costa Rica game just became must win.
You are right about that. The Costa Rica vs Panama draw and the Mexico vs Jamaica draw help the U.S. big time. The U.S. will qualify.
Okay, everyone can calm down now. Mexico and Jamaica just finished a 0-0 draw at Azteca. All is right in the US soccer universe. We will get 3 points from the Costa Rica match.
And CR and Panama tied. Couldn’t have asked for better results. I feel better after that 3 pm debacle!
Jamaica plays an incredible match at the Azteca and pulls out a draw! Great game from the Reggae Boyz.
I watched the last 30 minutes, and Jamaica looked quite capable. They were definitely defending and counterattacking, but doing so skillfully. Mexico looked flat – just like the US did today. I think this is going to be a wild hex…
I think we can all feel a little better after the Mexican result.
You tell me which is worse a road loss to one of the favorites or a home tie to one of the bottom 3
Jamaica is about to draw Mexico at Azteca. Perhaps concacaf really has improved as a whole. I myself refuse to believe it, but I may have no choice but to believe it at this point. I’m so confused!
Why keeping seeing 3 holding midfielders??!! No attack flank players?? Only one forward!!!
Great observations. The team could use Donovan.
Jamaica’s Johnson just had a 1 v 1 on goal inside the 18 and passed the ball pretty much to the keeper.
Well the ties in these other games is good for us. Hope Jamaica can hold onto a draw.
They flat out sucked today! Tomorrow is a new day…
Bottom line, the USA lost an important game. Everyone is at fault from the coach to the keeper, to the back line, to the midfield through the forwards. On the first goal, at least 3 defenders failed to defend even a bit until the ball came to a guy who was in a good spot to make an admittedly difficult shot. On the second goal, Bradley let a pass go unchallenged, Cameron and Howard conspired to fail to defend and Gonzalez looked tired getting back too late to prevent the goal. There is no USA player who isn’t having thoughts about the little mistakes he made (or at least there shouldn’t be). The coach trusted a back 4 who had never played together in a challenging game and who have a dearth of big game experience. The coach’s substitutions did not improve the USA’s level, despite the bump the fresh legs should have brought. The forwards did manage a goal, but were invisible for most of the game. Probably the most effective US player was Bradley, but that is small comfort since it took so little to outshine the rest.
Klinsmann gets me every time. He talks about dominating the game, taking it to the other team, expecting 3 points, etc. I get fired up, excited to see attractive soccer, expecting at least a result. Then he trots out a lineup without a right midfielder/winger, subs the left winger for another central mid and for the second loss in a row wastes a sub on replacing the no. 6. Kuhscheiße! This guy should be a politician.
+1
Perfectly stated.
+1000
A few things:
1. Omar was bad, time to give Besler his shot.
2. Lets see Cherundolo and Zusi overlapping again at RB/RW, respectively.
3. Enough is enough. High pressure means high pressure. Straighten out your midfield Jurgen. High work rates prevail. Bradley is fine, but we need a couple others to step in, immediately.
Repeat of other comments, but we all want Besler to get a shot. I just think today proved there are better times to do it than road WCQs. July is the Gold Cup, which for all intents and purposes is pretty useless without the Confed Cup prize. That’s when they should be starting every game and getting reps.
For the WCQs, survive and advance. Plenty of time to get the younger guys ready before 2014, just use the vets to makes sure we get to 2014.
Enough blaming Klinsmann.
He put out a line that 90% of this site were clamoring for like rabid dogs. You got your Gonzalez. You got your Klesjstan. You got your Deuce and Jozy and Bradley.
They blew chunks. Blaming their poor touches, slow play and lack of vision on Klinsmann is ludicrous. They did not move off the ball and they did not play quickly. That isn’t a “style” thing, it’s a basic soccer 101 thing and these guys are just incapable of doing so.
Setting out a first 11 with zero wingers is one thing, but picking a 23 with no one who can get some paint on their boots and run at defenders is crimminal. Jürgen was out coached. Everyone knew he was going to condense the midfield, keep it narrow and have no real plan B. Honduras responded by basically playing 3 at the back and pushing their wide players as high up the pitch as possible. Half the time Honduras’ shape resembled a 3-3-4. And throwing EJ -who did alright to be fair and shouldn’t have came out- on the left wing was never going to work.
Watch Roma, M. Bradley is effective cause they play expansive football where his passing range and energy is put to good use. I can only imagine he saw a wall of Hondorians when he got the ball oday cause our midfield was constantly 3 yards from him on his left and right. Asking a midfield of Jones, Williams, EJ and Bradley to combine is hilarious.
Please look at how defensive that formation was. Absolutely no width. Look at the heat maps, neither outsidebacks attacked. It was tactics set up for failure. JK set up team not to lose and they lost. Its always Jk’s brilliant tactics when we win but somehow its never his fault when we lose
I thought his substitutions were poor. But on the plus side for him, I felt they vindicated his choices for the starting lineup. Contrary to the SBI write up I thought Zusi and Kljestan were poor. Kljestan lost way too much possession, is way slower than EJ and was poor defensively. Zusi was worse. The “energy” he supposedly infused consisted of running around a lot, committing fouls, and killing offensive thrusts (that piss poor handball from a nice long ball capped off Zusi’s night).
No one really had a great game, but I feel EJ and Jones were much, much better than the subs. EJ put in a few nice, dangerous crosses, tracked back to defend, and stretched the D. Jones was decent defensively and put in some nice passes including the beauty to Demps for the goal. Both actually produced some tangible good plays, as opposed to Zusi who supposedly showed hustle and energy. And Kljestan who showed…
You know, thinking back on it, the way the team is set up, I don’t know who else Klins could have subbed in (maybe Torres or Davis or Herc but that’s just nitpicking) so I take back my criticism of his subs.
I’m torn as to whether this is just a bad showing by the players in a tough, hostile environment or Klins needs to rethink his tactics. As Mexico showed against Jamaica, getting results isn’t easy even at home in qualifying. I think JK gets the benefit of the doubt.
Before we claim soccer 101 under your list of understood concepts, please keep in mind the players he trotted out there and where they played. Yes, everybody on the pitch looked pretty bad, but at the same time the formation/situation they were in caused some of the problems. Forcing players into positions they don’t play doesn’t work. (ie. Johnson as left mid, three defensive mids all wanting to stay behind the ball, no mid who plays on either sideline)
Blaming the players for lackluster performance is completely legit, but you also need to accept JK deserves some blame for continuing to force “styles” that don’t work. It’s not a video game, players are going to be better at their natural positions.
A, the real problem (as others have stated) is that klinsmann left no room for plan b, which is what we all ragged on bob bradley for as well.
‘poor touches, slow play’ can have to do with environmental factors, but i agree with you that our players just played poorly.
however, if you think that ‘these guys are just incapable’ of soccer 101, then isn’t it klinsmann’s job to recognize that, you know, before a qualifier? why would he play someone like that? i mean, if you can see that, why can’t he?
and if these ‘incapable’ players are really the best we have, then klinsmann obviously isn’t setting up a gameplan best suited to their skill set, right?
This deck was stacked against the USA from the day the game was announced.
(1) Honduras plays in a competitive tournament just before the HEX opener that ensures it’s players are in game shape and have a coherent unit that has been together for what, a month?
(2) USA does not have a full team together for more than one practice
(3) Euro players played on Sat, and Sun, are jet lagged
(4) Game played in heat Euro players haven’t seen or felt in months
(5) MLS’ers have not played but maybe one competitive game in 2-3 months
(6) Away game
I’m just glad we didn’t get our doors blown off by 5-6 goals. Did anyone think we really had a chance against a team that has been riding high, at home, full of confidence, and played together for at least a month, and recently battle tested in cola centroamericana?
Fair points. I might add that Mexico lost to both Honduras and El Salvador in the last HEX.
Yep and that is why Sven Goran Ericksson was fired.
he was actually fired before they lost to el salvador, but mex had been horrible for a while by then.
still a good point, which is that there’s very little room (and heavy consequences) for error in the hex, although a little more now that 4th place plays oceania for final spot.
These guys are professionals. You can’t make excuses for their poor performance.
No but there are usually reasons.
The back line was abysmal, but worse was our total lack of intensity, especially in the final 20-25 minutes. We looked flat and out of shape, and quite frankly like we just wanted out of there. Coaching, player selection, and tactics get you so far, but heart is immeasurable, and we showed NONE!
+1 This is what really made me mad. Two sloppy goals – one with a spectacular finish – were bad enough, but the lack of running at the end, down a goal in a World Cup Qualifier, was inexcusable.
+1
Could agree more. They played keep away for what seemed like the last ten minutes while we stood and watched.
The front 6 looked terrible. Lifeless. Slow. No cohesion. No movement. The one time they actually made runs with purpose, they scored. The rest of the time they jogged or even just stood around. Klinsmann has deployed these players without defined roles and without any real system. This just is not going to cut it. The players have to play with purpose, and Klinsmann has to put them in a position to succeed.
Honduras straight up dominated us. And given the disparity in talent between the teams, that just cannot happen.
+1
That bicycle kick was a spectacular goal and if the player tried it 10 times in practice I would guess that he executes it that well one time out of ten. As for the second goal this is on Howard. If the goalie comes off his line he has to be 100% that he is going to get that ball. Howard didn’t and should have stayed on his line and let Cameron continue to run with the player. I think it showed a lack of confidence in Cameron from Howard to come out like that.
agree with this. cameron and omar were certainly not blameless, but if a keeper comes out like that, he’s got to at least touch the ball. howard did not have a good game overall.
Can’t believe i’m defending/extolling EJ, but can anyone explain to me why EJ wa subbed out. Thought he was one of the few who created anything.
I agree, never been an EJ fan, but I at least the dude was willing to take defenders on, for better or worse. The lack of initiative with our attackers is disheartening
Because we have a coach who is as clueless as he is highly paid.
At that point we were not looking to attack more. The subs were two guys normally good in possession, which is what we were looking for to finish out the game. Did it work out? Probably not. But was it a terrible substitution? No.
I’m not going to jump to conclusions with this game. I’m not at all surprised with the result. With the oppressive heat and humidity, hostle atmosphere, and no time to really prepare the US already were in trouble. More of our players had to travel from far then there players. More of there players are accustomed to the environment. It’s not an excuse for today’s performance. The US should of possessed the the ball more. Smarter passing would of helped. But even if it was a better situation, a young and unfamiliar defense would struggle. You will see a lot of improvement as we go along. And I’m sure Donovan will be back too. A second or third place finish in the hex will be fine. Just as long as we improve along the way.
It looked like some of the US players would’ve rather be playing for a different team.
There is definitely something there. With some many non-americans on the team, it makes you wonder.
Gah?
first of all, calling them ‘non-americans’ is incorrect, and dumb.
secondly, i agree that our players looked apathetic, but it certainly wasn’t limited to dual-nationals.
I’d like to see stats on percentage of touches Kljestan had that ended in turnovers. IMO, he’s simply not good enough on the ball for international play.
I actually thought he did well to help our possession.
I think you could say that about dempsey, jones, bradley, williams…etc. I say chalk this up to long travel, short turnover, hostile conditions(gameday, lodging, weather) and write it off. The urgency will be there for the next match and hopefully effort will match it. We just didn’t show up, not sure it will be a fruitful exercise to over-analyze this game. Team loss, blame goes out to everyone. Just my two cents. Also, gatt needs to be in this team if we are just throwing untested talent to the wolves. He will chase down everything and effort won’t be a problem. The wings might be a place where chances are created instead of where attacks go to die.
Bob Bradley was making a base salary of about $450K a year. Klinsmann’s base salary is $2.5 million a year. With Bradley in charge, the US won an important hex qualifier in Honduras 3-2. With Klinsmann, the US lost an important hex qualifier in Honduras 1-2.
I sure hope someone in the USSF can see the progress that justifies Klinsmann’s salary.
I’m not sure it’s that high, I thought I read it was 1.5. Regardless Jürgen is getting paid big bucks. Frankly I haven’t been impressed. His road qualifiers stand at eeking out a win against mighty Antigua, a loss to Jamaica and Honduras, plus a tie to Guatemala. Thats bad, Im not convinced thats a true measure of our talent pool. I’m not ready to press the panic button on qualifying but I’ve seen enough of Klinsmann to have my suspicions that he talks a fancy game and says all the right things to impress demanding fans and USSF executives in Chicago but he is just an average coach. He talks about a proactive and pressing playing style and routinely trumps out sides who sit in and let average teams look good. And while Bradley bunkered, he at least developed teams who could counter at pace.
In the last cycle Jozy was one of the leading scorers in the Hex. He looks like a shadow of himself at the international stage but has improved his productivity at the club level leaps and bounds. I used to be a Jozy hater, but now I am so wondering if Jozy’s form is more down to a coach who doesn’t know how to get the best out of this team.
When Klinsmann becomes “just an average coach” it will be a huge improvement.
I was trying to choose an alternative to the hyperbole to avoid looking reactionary. What I do know is that the Bayern team he got fired from won the league, domestic cup and made it to the CL final 15 months later and only cut Massimo Oddo and added Gomez.
It didn’t win the league. It was in third place when Klinsmann got fired and finished second. Nor did it win the domestic cup with Klinsmann. It lost in the quarterfinal to Leverkusen.
Jürgen was fired during the 2008-2009 season. He was fired late and Bayern stumbled to the finish line. The next season, or about 15 months later, with the addition of Gomez and if it makes you feel better, Pranjic, Bayern won the league, the domestic cup and were Euro runners up to The Special Ones’ Treble winning Inter.
So, what does Klinsmann have to do with the next season’s success? And don’t tell me that he laid the foundation — Bayern won both Bundesliga and the Cup in 07/08. So, basically, the team won the year before Klinsmann and the year after. And he managed to lose everything in less than one year he coached it.
To be fair, Bayern was only 3 points behind the first place team with 5 games to go when Klinsmann was fired and they finished 2 points behind the first team at the end of the season.
OUCH…..
Thank you!
I was just going to post something similar. Can’t blame this one on “bunker Bob”. I think US fans are about to realize how good they had it.
How far do you think Bunker Bob would have gotten without Landon Donovan?
+1 Bradley invested no time in future players which is why we have a lot of younger talent that just aren’t ready to play at the international. He rode on the coattails of Howard, Donovan, and Deuce for as long as he could, with no real plan in mind for transition.
interesting comment, i’d want to see stats on that.
feel like it isn’t true, since pretty much any young players now on the radar for the usmnt were identified/called up by bradley.
guess you could say he didn’t actually give them enough real minutes, but i’m not sure about that either.
Here are some of the young players that were first capped under Klinsmann: Fabian Johnson, Joe Corona, Mix Diskerud, Danny Williams, Graham Zusi, Joshua Gatt, Alfredo Morales, Terrence Boyd, Matt Besler, Bill Hamid, Joe Gyau (not capped, but received and accepted his first call up). To be fair, some of these players played for youth national teams in this country, but still Klinsman gave them their first opportunity with the USMNT.
We have never been good at road qualifiers. We sit back and play narrow and that never works. JK has gotten nothing more out of them than BB did.
Everything was forgettable, PERIOD. Just like the Canada game…
We need Holden back. And as much as I hate to say it we need Landycakes. Although he always disappeared on road qualifiers also.
So tired of hearing that a healthyHolden is going to be the savior. A good player? Yes. Better than Jones or Mo Edu or Sacha Klestjan? Maybe. A game changer on a team with no wingers? No way. Love the guy and he may make us a tiny bit better, but he is not the kind of player who will make a big difference on his own.
Why does everyone keep singling Omar Gonzalez out? I don’t think he played that much worse than Cameron. And both of them and Howard messed up on that goal. I don’t understand why Cameron keeps getting starts at CB with the USMNT when he keeps struggling there and doesn’t play that position at Stoke.
Because, when you watch the replays of the second goal, Gonzalez watched the ball and didn’t run back to cover the goal when Honduras penetrated. Then he slows down to look around for Honduran players before stepping to the ball and trying to clear it. He misses twice on the play – if he had started running back when Honduras penetrated, he would have cut off the pass to Bengston or been in the right place to clear the ball off the line had the Honduran player eluded Cameron and rounded Howard, shooting on an empty goal. Even starting towards goal when he did, he could have cleared the ball if he hadn’t slowed down to look for Honduran players before kicking the ball. Two mistakes on one play is why the blame falls on him. Cameron and Howard didn’t deliver on the play, but I could argue that they simply got beat on the play, rather than making a big mistake.
On the first goal, the same problem exists, but with different culprits. Cameron didn’t blow it because he didn’t beat the Honduran player to the ball, he just got beat. The whole defense blew it, however, because they all stood watching, not moving, as the cross came in from the right. All credit to the finisher on the bicycle kick, but the ball should never have made it to him. The initial cross (from the right, not the corner kick) should have been cut out or the pass blocked.
I got to disagree with you on the second goal. Cameron was soft and gave up to easily thinking Timmy was going to save the day. He could have bodied him harder. I don’t care if Timmy is calling for it. You clear the danger first.
Omar Gonzalez passes completed: 5/13.
I agree. Howard, Cameron and Gonzalez all made mistakes on that last goal. I realize Tim Howard has saved us a few times in the past, but most of the blame falls on him for that goal. He is the captain of the team. He took charge on that play and made absolutely horrible decisions. He shouldn’t have left his line (Cameron was there), he shouldn’t have called Cameron off the ball. Yes, Omar should have marked his man for the entire play, but when your goalie (and Captain of the team) leaves his line you expect he has the ball. The USMNT media is being way too generous to Howard on this second goal.
Spot on Dan. For some reason, Howard seems to always avoid criticism by the press and most of the fan base. The one nice punch save he made would’ve/should’ve been made by any our of keepers.
We had a lot of the ball in the second half, and survived the rough patches in the first. They were fortunate to win. A bicycle kick and a goal that came in the midst of a lot of USA possession shows how unpredictable the game can be.
The bicycle kick was not “unpredictable.” There were a series of defensive breakdowns that led to that first goal: (1) Chandler is disposesed at the end line, forcing Omar to make a slide tackle, knocking the ball out for a corner; (2) the corner sails over the mixer and is tracked down by Honduras, but the US (Williams?) is slow to close it down, allowing for an uncontested cross; (3) the ball floats to the back post and three (four if you want to count Chandler) ball watch while two hondurans track it, one of the honduran knocks it with his chest to the goal scorer (i.e., if someone challenged for the ball in the air they would have won it or at least not allowed the ball to fall to his chest); (4) the goal scorer has space to execute the bike as nobody had a body on him. Calamitous and unfortunately quite predictable.
Yeah, there were breakdowns. The biggest being the fact that the crosser got the ball in with his strong foot. But a goal like that is hard to predict, and is an extremely hard goal to score.
Of course there are breakdowns on both goals. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been scored. But the US had much more possession in the second half than they did in the first, and ultimately should’ve gotten more out of it. Had they not scored, and Gonzo and Timmy not had a breakdown, I could’ve lived with it. That’s the unpredictability. Take your chances, or lose. We put ourselves in a decent position to get a point or maybe more. But ultimately it didn’t happen, and we fell apart after. We can fix things, certainy, but we had our chances too.
+1 on the defensive breakdowns.
And I agree with the reply, that it can be hard to predict goals like that. But I think the point is that, in the run of play leading up to that, there were two white shirts with about 4 yards of space around them inside the 18, and a bunch of blue shirts apparently lounging in the balmy Honduran sun just outside the six. You can’t give those attackers that space. The odds of scoring any goal (let alone a bizarre one) are exponentially higher if you do.
Ladies and Gentleman it shows you the quality of our overrated team
This game showed me 1 thing. MLS has failed to improve US soccer. The reason it has failed is because it hasn’t kept American players here in MLS. We ship players abroad thinking when they come back they will be better for it. Truth is, the best thing for a team is the proximity of its players to the games they play. Since MLS we’ve had one good World Cup. We haven’t produced better teams. If anything they have gotten worse. This nation will never advance so long as we think it is better to send players abroad.
Which is it, MLS or playing overseas?
1) With a squad made up almost exclusively of MLS players, the US had its best World Cup in history, making it to the quarter finals.
2) You’re really going to argue that playing overseas has hindered the progress of the national team? If so, good luck with that.
3) A lot of players in CONCACAF play in Europe. They’ve gotten better, too.
1) It is our best players not playing in MLS. It reduces the quality of the league as a whole which in turn stagnates development of American players and gives more opportunity to our CONCACAF rivals.
2) The proof is in the pudding. The USMNT has not improved with more American players overseas.
3) Yes, but many more are in MLS.
The proof is in the pudding! Odd place for proof. Leave clever tropes to the professionals. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” or this makes no sense.
“with a squad made up of almost exclusively of MLS player”???
Correct me if I am wrong but were Claudio Reyna, John O’Brien, Tony Sanneh, Brad Friedel, Greg Berhalter, Eddie Lewis, Frankie Hejduk, Casey Keller, Earnie Stewart and David Regis playing in MLS at the time of WC 2002? Those guys were half the team. Not to mention that Reyna, O’Brien, Friedel and Sanneh were our most outstanding players during the tournament. And not to mention that Jeff Agoos,….Mr. MLS himself almost singhandledly sckuttled the USA’s fortunes.
MLS has made the Concacaf region as a whole much better. Thereby improving the quality of opponents we face during qualifying and regional tournaments. Barring the Euro players that don’t get much playing time, I don’t think you are making a good argument here.
MLS has certainly improved Honduras….
The fact is we played an up and coming team on their home field in 90 humid heat during the dead of Winter for our players on a pitch with the grass grown out specifically to tire the US out… We were terrible in defense because of poor selection and a half hearted effort by our right back… (whom people rate way higher than he deserves)… with all that… it still took a bicycle kick and a stupid GK/CB error to lose…
Doesn’t Boniek Garcia play in MLS? Maybe it has helped Honduras…
I’d agree with the comment below that CONCACAF is improving and MLS has played a small role in that improvement. Honduras played in the World Cup. How many World Cup caliber teams can we beat on the road in a qualifying game? Not many, and it’s not the fault of MLS.
The U.S. National Team has gotten worse since MLS? Are you out of your mind?
Prior to MLS the United States did not even qualify for the World Cup consistently, yet it has not missed the tournament since the inception of MLS. Now, this is not solely DUE to MLS, but it has certainly played a factor, and to say the team has gotten worse is absurd. It has advanced beyond the group stage twice since the inception of MLS, which is essentially the same amount of times it did so in the history of the World Cup prior to the domestic league opening.
If you are someone who expected the United States to join the world soccer powers in the matter of a decade, then you never had a firm grip on reality. All countries go through cycles with their national teams. If you expect the World Cup semis to be the landing point every four years, you’re not paying attention. Considering how far behind the rest of the world the U.S. is, the growth and achievement here is remarkable. If the United States is to every be on par with those powers – which it may never be – it will take generations.
There is a lot of work to do in this country, and a lot of issues, but MLS has done nothing but help. Yes, the best Americans are eventually going to want to give it a shot in Europe. The fact that more and more are sticking should be proof of the improved development thanks to MLS and the overall growth of the sport in America. How does it stagnate development of American players? New, young Americans will step in. Just because it isn’t immediately apparent who those individuals are doesn’t mean they’re not there.
The loss to Honduras was disappointing and illuminated some issues (some of which we already knew were there), but it certainly did nothing to harm the reputation of MLS and it certainly isn’t a sign of doomsday for the USMNT. There’s a long way to go in the hex, and beyond that there’s a long way to go for the team. It’s a natural progression, and progression doesn’t always happen in a straight line. Next WC team isn’t always going to be better than the last. It’s the same in every country in the world.
Maybe Concacaf is just getting better as a region. That seems like the most likely option to me. That and we didn’t have the best roster to choose from.
IMO, It was time to transition the back line, and time to give MLSer’s some respect. It is also time to realize we need to do one of two things:
Go back to the 4-4-2 and try to score on set pieces and defend.
Or, try to begin to develop service from the wings. I don’t really remember a time when we did that particularly well.
Service from the wings – remember, we didn’t have any wingers there. Well, Dempsey is a decent winger, but he was playing second striker. And Zusi, well, I should have said any good wingers.
Definitely agree we looked tired. I don’t think Jozy had a poor game in comparison to most but it was obvious that him, chandler, f johnson along with others all looked tired. I don’t like the excuse about williams when comparing him to edu. Williams has been a sub for this second half of the season but a starter for most of the first. Lets not forget that Edu played a few minutes over about 4 months of time till he finally got a loan and has started the last two games.
If Williams ever has looked like an international player, it must have been in a game I didn’t see. I honestly thought the only reason he got so much time in Russia was because Klinsmann wanted to be fair with a last look at Williams.
The only difference today was that none of Williams’ lost possessions resulted in goals – this time.
Its so frustrating being a fan of the USMNT, the style of play just doesnt make sense, it seems we dont have a cense of direction
Well, there is no guarantee of a win against Costa Rica, and, frankly, a point in Mexico will be very unlikely… So, it’s quite possible that the US will have just one point after three games. That might prove to be disastrous.
No it will not. The US will be fine.
What this loss did was make the home match against Costa Rica and the away match against Jamaica absolutely vital for as early as it is in the qualifying process. The Mexico match at Azteca would be nice to get a point in, but can NOT be expected (regardless of tonight’s Mexico hiccup). If the US does not get 3 points against Costa Rica, and at least a point at “The Office” in Kingston, they are really behind the 8-ball with 40% of the Hex Behind them. The results need to come in the form of at least 4 points in the next 3 matches, if not 6 points.
When did mexico become this momoth of a team that anyone should be scared of?? Yeah we pooped the bed yesterday but all is not lost and we have take pride in the fact that we have topped our confederation the last 2 world cup qualifying cycles. We have a deeper and more talented squad than we’ve had for some time and the honduras game may depict that but its the first game away and we have nine more to go! You can blame it on alot of things but at the end of the day the players have to play better even of klinsy get shte tactics wrong! There is no excuse for not closing down space for open crosses leading to goals and the selfishness of dempsey in the attacking zone continues to irk the hell out of me…i know he is one of the more technical and talented players on our team but he continues to hurt our scoring chances with his extra touches on the ball and the haphazard long shots at goal that have no chance of going in the back of the neck! How is clint’s uninfluential play not brought up more? And i hope it’s not because he scored the goal….he was nonexistant the whole second half but people to blast landon for appearing in and out of games smh!!!
*”the honduras game may not depict that”! guess i should have edited before sending lol! IN all honesty guys now is not the time to panic, i mean did you really expect us to go underfeated in the hexagonal??? We’ve always been that team that could lose to anyone and beat anyone for years now so keep your heads up and watch our boys do the business the next 9 games!
Hex road games aint easy folks. Press the red panic button if we lose at home.
+1
I think for a lot of the doomsayers, this is their first round. We aren’t dominate away in the Hex to Central American teams. Never have been.
It’s not so much missing out on a point that hurts, it’s only one point. It’s more about taking points off of your opponent, especially home points.
We need to call it the way we see it. The engineer with the bag of tools is Klinsmann and the final result is a matter of selecting the right tool for the job. If these players were in our pool
Valladares plays for Olimpia (HON)
Peralta plays for Vida (HON)
Bernardez plays for San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Figeroa plays for Wigan Athletic (EPL)
J.C. Garcia plays for Olimpia (HON)
O.B. Garcia plays for Houston Dynamo (MLS)
Garrido plays for Red Star Belgrade (SERBIA)
Espinoza plays for Wigan Athletic (EPL, just left MLS)
Martinez plays for Seattle Sounders (MLS)
Bengtston plays for New England Revolution (MLS)
Costly plays for Veria (GREECE)
..I highly doubt most of them will make the USMNT A team….But with the right COACH they defeated a flat US team. We need skill and creativity in our line up and Klinsmann is one to spot, harvest and arrrange our talent…..if he can’t seem to build a solid team with our pool then no harm no fool….but like honduras lets find someone who can. Coaches like Luis Fernando Suárez can field a team with the majority of their players from MLS and Honduras (again a league weaker than MLS!!!) and beat us……maybe we need coaches with his vision and expertise, because imagine what the score line would be if we had fielded mostly MLS players…..lets face it with the right players selected (not the best players) our team is only as good as the training they are given
dude, we lost to Panama with the A-team…
true dat! the team looked awful today. the players have to wear that one…BUT…klinsmann is the leader of this group, and as a result of that, he has to step up and take ownership for the team and their performances!
Bizzy is absolutely right. Klinsmann cares way more about pedigree than performance. And it’s not working.
JK had a group of largely european players on a short week. Honduras just finished Copa Centroamericana. You can look at individuals but having a team together for 4 games in week is a factor in how well Honduras played. Give the US team that much time together and I think you a much different result.
You can also point out that our team, made up of mostly European players, cost us not because of talent, but because they all had a short time to fly across timezones, get acclimated to the heat when all of them are used to freezing temperatures, and find themselves in sync with one another in a few days.
This was a typical result under those circumstances. But I agree, Klinsi didn’t pick the right team. Evans and Davis were both a waste of space when Mix or Corona would have impacted the game tonight.
http://www.facebook.com/BringLandonDonovanBackToTheNationalTeam
Bring Landon back.
Amen!
Towards the end of the first half there was a play where Chandler coughed the ball up to Costly, and Omar had to come across and pull a great slide tackle before Costly could cut in on goal. After the play Chandler didn’t even acknowledge Omar, and Omar turned his back and walked away.. I just wonder if there is some sour grapes between the two of them seeing how it was Chandler who blew out Omar’s knee during his training stint at Nuremberg…
I remember this well. Chandler got dispossesed near the end line and Omar saved his bacon. This was actually the play that led to the corner that led to the goal. Sure the bike was unreal, but it was preceded by about 90 seconds of defensive lapses. Anyone that says that it was just a great finish ( Klinsi ) needs to pay better attention.
Chandler Bing can you play right back instead of that Chandler we have now.
Sour grapesbetween him and Omar? No way.
This guy and the other Germans could care less about wearing the US crest.
All of you “Klinsy” ass kissers got to see what a bad hire this was.
Bring back Arena
Sorry, but the old coaches are the answer. Maybe Klinsman isn’t either.
Have to disagree with you about the need for Klejstan and Zusi. It’s on thing if they’re going to replace one of the three redundant Dmids, (don’t want to hear it, they are all defensive players by nature). But as wide players? No. I don’t know what game you saw, but the only thing either one of them contributed on the flanks was a handball by Zusi in a dangerous attacking situation. They’re not fast enough to be wide players for the US, and simply aren’t going to provide anything special as subs.
Eddie Johnson was at least a speed option, and in the second half looked like the only player with a full set of lungs. Why JK subbed him out for Klejstan, I’ll never know. More than anything, this game spoke of a coach who doesn’t know how to get a team to play effectively, whatever the lineup.
+1
Signed,
(don’t want to hear it, they are all defensive players by nature)
+1+1
The problem starts way before this fiasco.
We have no plan for developing players. If you have knowledge of one please show me.
Until then Mexico ( and real soccer nations) are laughing at us.
Mexico tied Jamaica 0-0 at home. Pretty sure they’re not laughing (or thinking about) anyone else in the hex tonight.
Mexico is not laughing right now…..trust me.
Yeah, I hear ya. Our biggest issue over the last few years is the lack of wing options. We have Donovan and that’s pretty much it. But, if we look towards the future, and hopefully by the next games, we can add Gatt and Gyau for the wings, and maybe throw in Diskerud and Boyd as a potential offensive link up and forward respectively. Look something like this (I realize this is a very young team overall, but I feel they would live up to the challenge):
—————Boyd————–Altidore——————
Gyau———Bradley——–Dempsey———-Gatt
Johnson——Cameron——Gonzo——-Chandler
—————————Howard—————————–
Dempsey obviously the more forward of he and Bradley.
Subs and/or replacement in the starting lineup: Diskerud, Gomez, Boca, Dolo (if not injured), Edu, Johnson, Guzan and Jones
How much worse could this proposed side do than the team we saw today? How less cohesive could the team’s attack be? Really, today’s performance was inexcusable. Play well and lose at the end. At least play like you have a damn clue and have actually stepped on a pitch for once in your life.
I can appreciate playing for a draw. But the team was nether prepared to play for a single point, nor were the appropriate players on the pitch to execute such a plan. Give me this proposed team over the water we saw passed on the field today.
So here’s what I don’t get. Everybody wants to praise EJ for this speed that everybody assumes suddenly makes him an instant threat. Outside of one “cross” to Jozy, I didn’t see much out of him, and even then it was a great ball TO Eddie that made that happen.
What I did see was him continually crowding the middle. He’s used to playing in the middle so naturally he’s going to end up there. There were a number of times during the first half when Jozy or Clint would have space in the middle but would have three guys on them because EJ floated to the middle, or miscommunication between the two would ruin a chance. If you’re going to play EJ, play him up front with somebody, but not in a position that he should be out wide, because he can’t do it.
We had no runs up the lines, and almost no competence on set pieces. I get not everybody likes Zusi, but he plays his roles well. When he entered, he routinely switched the field to an open man. The handball was a bad bounce which shouldn’t have happened, but at least he was there. Before he entered, name one person who would have been making a run down the right side.
As a last pitch for Zusi, at least he can kick corners/crossing free kicks. That’s one spot that Landon was really missed today. Jones and Bradley were just not good. Whether it’s Zusi or somebody else, we need somebody who can put those in the box.
Man, no kidding. If Jermaine Jones is taking your set pieces, you know something is wrong.
I agree with some of your points about EJ (and in general) but the fact that he was shifting toward the middle isn’t really his fault. It seemed like the coach’s choice of players and alignment necessitated that. We were effectively playing a 4-2-2-2, which I imagine is because Klinsmann wanted to bottle up their stronger central midfield to protect a pretty inexperienced back four.
In theory, when you’ve got two speedy wingbacks in F Johnson and Chandler, you can balance out the defensive attributes of “clog the middle.” I suspect that that was the tactical gameplan. Unfortunately, theory didn’t meet practice, because F. Johnson and Chandler appeared unable to avoid being overmatched, and, as a result, we had no release valve on the sides of the pitch.
(Not to mention Williams was awful, and, in my opinion, Bradley played about as poorly as I’ve seen him play for the Nats. He wasn’t out-and-out terrible, just far below his normal quality.)
But the upshot of this- can we blame EJ (or Jozy, or Dempsey) for the lack of movement on the sides and on the top? They were asked to be part of lineup and tactical plan that was shortsighted at best, and, as the result indicates, simply did not work.
Who’s most at fault? I say: Tactics 75%, personnel 25%. Klinsi’s got to do better.
Even in the center, Klejstan has never shown once there in all his caps and if Zusi’s speed is suspect out wide, his lack of decision speed would cost us dearly.
We need the likes of Corona and Mix to step up, and for Klinsi to give them a chance. They are our creative future.
I’m just glad people aren’t hopping on the bring back Holden bandwagon. Let him rest until the summer.
Johnson made a big mistake in not covering back on the first Honduran goal. Their wing ran a third of the field with no pressure from U.S. players before crossing it. He may be “fast” but it didn’t seem like he was working too hard.
Bocanegra wouldn’t have made any difference on the field. People keep making excuses for performances like this. The harsh reality is we suffer the same problem as England fans do. We think our team is way better than they actually are
Honestly, you’re probably right. Still, I would want to see a USMNT coach give an actual extended look at what having more attack minded midfielders would do. Klinsmann has talked a big game, but when in comes down to it both he and Bradley have panicked at a lack of results and resorted to filling the midfield with defensive minded players. Falcao would have a hard time scoring when MB90 is more often then not your most attack minded midfielder.
I want a coach with the guts to play 1-2 DMs and see how it works.
+1
Who? Who are these wondrous attacking midfielders that the US should field? Benny Feilhaber, I don’t think so.
Feilhaber would be a fine choice. Or Kljestan (in the middle, not the wing), or Mix. Really, anyone with a little bit of technical quality would be an improvement over Jones. (Yeah, his pass to Dempsey was great, but the Honduran marking was pretty bad, and I’d take bets that any midfielder worth his salt would have made it.)
why not? afraid we’ll lose?
kljestan, he would have been an improvement over jones, and jones over williams
kljestan was not good yesterday when he came on.
Because he was playing out of position on the wing, that’s why.
We suffer the same problem England does — the whole is less than the sum of the parts.
All of you losers are a joke. You know absolutely nothing about the game. It is a loss. Teams do lose you know. The U.S. will make it through the Hex winning it or coming in second and doing well in the WC. Every WC cycle you idiots come out.
Someone’s cranky.
Nice to see someone besides me is in a bad mood.
Denial
Bocanegra wouldn’t, but Besler would have.
Its all about distribution, which is a huge strength of Besler’s.
”We knew that we could pull it off, we knew we can play,” Jamaica assistant coach Alfredo Montesso said. ”Perhaps it*s a surprise for many, but not for us. Before this round, we were told that we had a 17 percent chance to qualify for the World Cup, I think we just improve those odds today.”
That is Jamaica’s assistant coach after their draw at Azteca. They have a winning mentality. Confidence. They have expectations. This is what is missing within the USMNT. They went down to Honduras giving the opposition too much respect. The mentality needs to change. Our guys need to walk onto the field every game expecting to win 3-0, 4-0. Our expectation needs to change. We have the quality. I don’t care what formation we played yesterday, whether it was defensive or offensive oriented. The quality was there to win. The guys need to have the mentality. Until they decide that they are the best team in the region, they won’t be
You are guessing. You were not in the locker room.
I don’t think it’s that, I think we all knew away to Honduras midweek for our European led team would be tough. I think it was the lack of energy which we translate to a lack of heart. And that is something we US fans don’t recognize in our team.
If in shape Gonzo was not fit enough to play, newly fit, old, slow Boca would have been thrashed. It was a no win situation. Klinsi plays Boca, we lose and everyone says Gonzo is the best fit. He plays Gonzo, we lose and Boca would have been the savior.
And a lot on here including commentators wanted to see what Gonzo could do. Like Ives said, it was a baptism by fire. We got the jitters out, now let’s build toward 2014.
All I can say is thank God the rest of the games went our way. The playing field is still almost level.
Jamaica getting a point is not things going our way.
True. I guess the best case scenario is that Mexico and Honduras win all their games, and the other teams tie each other. Not including USMNT games, of course.