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.