Good afternoon folks. The moment has arrived. USA vs. England. Can England exact revenge for the 1950 World Cup and the Revolutionary War? Can the Americans finally get payback for England subjecting us to Simon Cowell?
I’m kidding.
Today’s friendly will be a good test for both sides (despite what more cynical American fans and egotistical English fans might think). Landon Donovan will not play today, but there is still plenty to look forward to. How will the Americans do in a packed Wembley Stadium? We are about to find out.
I will do a running commentary throughout the match so feel free to follow along here. Please share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.
Let’s get it started:
————————-
FINAL- That’s all for today. Thanks for following the match here and be sure to check back in tomorrow for some post-match analysis.
————————-
FINAL- England 2, USA 0. The AMericans were outclassed today and even if Landon Donovan had played I don’t think it would have mattered that much. He might have helped the U.S. team create some more good chances, but the overall quality of England’s starting XI was clear throughout the first half.
————————-
93rd minute- When you consider that the first goal came off a set piece and the second courtesy of a blown assignment in midfield.
————————-
90th minute- England has dominated play as most expected, but I have to say the U.S. defense didn’t do terribly today.
————————-
89th minute- Anytime Peter Crouch sets up for a bicycle kick you have to just watch in amazement. It’s like a National Geographic episode.
————————-
86th minute- Random question, do you think John Terry would go completely psycho if an American player brought up the missed PK?
————————-
81st minute- Some very nice work from Eddie Lewis, who is making it clear that he can still contribute at his age. He deserves his chances when World Cup qualifying roles around.
————————-
73rd minute- It’s impressive to watch England’s players break out on the counter. You really see the speed disparity between the teams.
England’s just knocking it around now.
————————-
71st minute- Pearce with the yellow card for the foul on Bently. I thought Pearce had a pretty good first half actually.
————————-
69th minute- Freddy Adu comes into the match. It will be interesting to see what he can do.
Also in the match now is Peter Crouch, which may make that the biggest disparity in size between two subs coming into the same match at the same time. (Someone call Guinness).
————————-
63rd minute- As most expected, the American attack has been toothless without Landon Donovan and with Eddie Johnson and Josh Wolff. It’s time to start looking into getting some uncapped Brazilian forwards married to some American women or something because the U.S. forward pool needs some help (and that’s even with Jozy Altidore on the way).
————————-
59th minute- Who to blame on that goal? Ricardo Clark gets lost in the midfield, leaving Gareth Barry completely unmarked and Barry has all day to deliver a perfect pass to Gerrard. Is that a preview of Liverpool next season?
————————-
58th minute- GOAL ENGLAND. Steven Gerrard splits the American defense to make it 2-0 England.
————————-
HALFTIME- England 1, USA 0. The Americans are lucky not to be down by two or three goals. Some tactical fouling and poor finishing by England has kept the Americans in the game. What needs to change? Josh Wolff has to come out of this match. Freddy Adu needs to come in. Ricardo Clark should come out as well but I’m not sure Bob Bradley will make two halftime subs.
—————————
44th minute- Cherundolo takes down Defoe and draws a yellow. Here comes another dangerous free kick.
—————————
41st minute- USA dodges a bullet when England wastes a very dangerous free kick.
—————————
39th minute- GOAL ENGLAND. John Terry heads home Beckham’s free kick. Terry outjumps Bocanegra for the goal.
—————————
37th minute- Clark halts a long stretch of England possession with a bad foul. Here comes Beckham for a free kick.
—————————
34th minutes- England comes VERY close but DeFoe sends a close-range shot wide. Bad finish after a great pass from Gerrard.
—————————
34th minute- Josh Wolff has looked pretty useless today.
Also looking a bit off is John Terry. I think it’s safe to say he’s still thinking about the Champions League final.
—————————
32nd minute- Johnson runs at Terry and gets a foul call. Nice.
—————————
31st minute- Defoe whistled for a foul on Onyewu. Yes, you read that right.
—————————
29th minute- Eddie Johnson gets a nice pass in space, but drops it off to Dempsey, who loses it. I’ll give Johnson credit for being active, if ineffective.
—————————
27th minute- Nice long pass from Bradley to Johnson but Johnson’s touch is bad. He’s bailed out by a foul call.
Wes Brown fouls Dempsey, setting up another decent free kick from distance for Beasley.
—————————
26th minute- Eddie Johnson works a give-and-go but his shot is a weak one right to James.
—————————
26th minute- A U.S. free kick falls to Johnson, who chips it back across, but the pass is cleared out of danger.
—————————
24th minute- A dangerous free kick from England results in a clear shot from Gerrard, but Dempsey heads it away.
—————————
23rd minute- Rooney just undressed Bocanegra but his pass into the box is a bit off, keeping Gerrard from getting a good shot on goal.
—————————
21st minute- Beasley and Wes Brown clash, foul on Beasley. Good to see Beasley run at somebody. He needs to get more of the ball.
—————————
19th minute- Beckham with a rushed shot and sends it high.
—————————
18th minute- Americans doing a good job of staying compact, which isn’t leaving England much room in the final third.
—————————
17th minute- The Americans with a spell of possesion. Nice to see Michael Bradley win a 50/50 ball from Steven Gerrard.
—————————
16th minute- For all the question marks in the U.S. lineup, it is definitely a comforting fact that the Americans have Tim Howard in net.
—————————
15th minute- Not much of a rhythm to this match yet.
—————————
12th minute- Beckham’s first free kick results in a Gerrard goal but the ref hadn’t blown the whistle to restart play. Beckham’s second kick misses a bit wide.
—————————
11th minute- Those wondering about Josh Wolff can keep wondering. He hasn’t done anything yet.
Gerrard fouled by Clark. Good free kick position for England.
—————————
10th minute- You’re going to see a lot of tactical fouling by the Americans to contend with the English team’s quick counter.
—————————
9th minute- Bradley with a rough challenge on Beckham to break up a counter.
—————————
8th minute- Pearce does well to break up an England counterattack. That one was close. Defoe has some wheels.
—————————
7th minute- Beckham with a foul on Pearce, who made a nice move.
—————————
5th minute- Rooney almost catches the U.S. offside trap but gets called for it. I can’t see him not scoring one today.
—————————
4th minute- Cherundolo is up. England is knocking the ball around right now. Beckham’s first pass goes straight to Heath Pearce.
—————————
3rd minute- Beasley is looking very active early on.
Cherundolo is hurt after knocking knees with Gerrard.
—————————
1st minute- Look for Dempsey to have some freedom to roam throughout the midfield today. He’s going to be the key to sparking any U.S. attack.
—————————
1st minute- And we’re off
—————————
PRE-GAME- Landon Donovan missing the match is pretty disappointing. I like starting a match with a big understatement. Thank you.
—————————
PRE-GAME- Looks like a late-arriving crowd for this one.
—————————
PRE-GAME- Looks like a good crowd for this one (duh). You can definitely hear them.
——————————-
PRE-GAME– For those of you who missed it, here is the U.S. lineup:
————Wolff——-Johnson———-
Beasley—————————– Dempsey
———–Bradley———Clark————
Pearce–Bocanegra—Onyewu–Cherundolo
——————–Howard—————–
Here’s England’s lineup:
———–Rooney——–DeFoe———-
Hargreaves————————Beckham
————Gerrard—Lampard————-
Cole—-Ferdinand—–Terry——–Brown
——————-James——————–