What a game.
For all the complaints and concerns and fears following the U.S. national team’s losses to England and Spain, most of those were put to rest on Sunday night as the USA showed skill, heart, determination and definite potential in a 0-0 tie against Argentina, the No. 1 team in the world.
This was the U.S. team we have been waiting to see, a team that can stand up against the big boys of world soccer and match them. Yes, it would have been better if the Americans could have scored a goal, but they still showed more than enough to leave fans feeling optimistic about the progress they have made after friendlies against England, Spain and Argentina.
Here is my story on the match for ESPN.com.
I will offer a more detailed take on the match in a short while. For now I want to hear from you on what you thought of the match. Are you feeling better about where the U.S. national team is in terms of progress? What players stood out for you and how do you feel about the U.S. team as it heads toward World Cup qualifying.
Share your thoughts on last night’s match, and on the U.S. national team, below.
EJ never works hard, but I know at least 10 MLS starters who would work twice as hard as him to pressure the defense and get the ball. He acts as though he needs to conserve his energy for the two 15 minute extra sessions that the US won’t play in unless they get back to knockout round soccer.
Since we don’t have any true, world-class, back-to-the-goal strikers, we need to adopt more of a “dutch-whirl” / total soccer attack that will be unpredictable as to the point of attack on each sucessive ball advance. Have Dempsey, Adu, Donovan, Beasley & Altidore running a constant motion type offense with lots of cuts & diagonal passes.
Ok, I saw the 2nd half and I don’t think we should be as optimistic as the posts suggest.
Before I get your dander up, let me state the positives:
– We got a good luck at players and many of them impressed me
– Landon made runs, had good touch, though his shot wasn’t there and didn’t spring his teammates quite like Adu does. I watched a Galavision replay and the announcers definitely respect LD (I wonder why 😉
– Dempsey played better than against Spain and England.
– Adu was his usual dangerous self. A combo of Dempsey, Donovan and Adu is about as dangerous as we can be. I’m looking forward to seeing Adu lead his team at the Olympics
– I was so-so on Pearce until this game. He held his position well and came forward well.
– Bradley, Mastro and Edu all played well. Those 3 should be our holding mids. Edu seems to have good passing as well. He made this pass diagonal to a running LD who cut back inside his defender and … sky’ed his shot. This is the pass Mastro and Bradley need to make as well.
– Gooch was his usual physical self. He does make mistakes but he’s still young (24) and he’s much better than he was 1-2 years ago. I expect him to be pretty good to very good in another 2 years of playing football in europe
– Califf and DeMerit showed they are capable subs, if not challenging for a starting spot. I think Califf is Boca’s sub and DeMerit is Gooch’s sub.
– Obviously Timmy as the MOTM for us, though that should have been a penalty in the 2nd half.
Here are the neutrals
– Dolo was good defensively but was lost offensively
– DMB ran a lot and played D well, but didn’t add much offensively
– E.Lewis has a great cross but doesn’t like to mix-it-up physically. With 2 D-Mids, I would start E.Lewis over DMB right now.
Negatives
– EJ as our starting forward is a huge problem. He played a nice give ‘n go down the left side, goes to goal with the ball and when the keeper charges him, he …. plays a weird, diagonal, back pass to the center which Argentina gets. On top of that, he gets a knock from the goalkeeper. For J. Cruz’s misses, he at least took a shot when it was him and the GK. A chip, even if would have been blocked, would have been a try.
– BB’s lineup. I think BB has his favorites like EJ. I read crap like his quote that Adu needs to show he deserves more playing time. Oh yeah? Then why does EJ start? Just complete B$.
– Our offense. This is a continuation of BB’s lineup. He refuses to put our best offense on the field, namely Adu, LD, Dempsey & E.Lewis/DMB. Given that we just went 180 minutes without a goal (yes, I know, it was only England, Spain and Argentina), we need to put our best offense on the field. At least give our team the best chance it can get. Putting EJ on the field is too frustrating to watch (but I’ll watch anyway; maybe I’m just a masochist)
Our defense is fine. Until I see a lineup with Adu, Dempsey, LD and ELewis/DMB, I am pessimistic about our offense.
Apologies for the long post.
BTW, do you remember in the South Africa game when Dempsey scored on a cross from ‘Dolo? Remember what everyone said then? As a striker, you may only get 1 chance the entire game. If you are high class, you’ll put that one chance away (or come close). Now thing about EJ and BB’s refusal to try anyone else up top (aside from Josh Wolff).
Yeah, HotStud, the pitch was definitely a bit slow. It sure didn’t seem to slow down the Argies in the first half though. 🙂
Tim, you wrote:
remember one time watching a MNT game that was being called by Marcelo Balboa. One of our guys, I can’t recall who at the moment, missed a very makeable shot from about 12-15 yards out. His comment was “At this level, you simply cannot miss that.” EJ, Gooch, and Dempsey need to listen to this VERY OBVIOUS advice. When you’re playing for your country against the top teams in the world, you simply have to finish, because chances are THEY will finish on you. ”
While it sounds good and EVERY football announcer seems to say it, I think that all strikers only convert a 1/3 on their chances…and it’s expected. If starting strikers around the world incl. Toni, Klose, Henry, van Nistleroy, and others miss chances or have those great chances saved (or just miss), it speaks to the fact that it’s hard to score goals in the heat of the moment. No slam on you, or even the announcers but when you hear that line from Tommy Smyth three times in one game, you start thinking that opportunities are indeed missed. It’s about creating enough of them to get one to go in.
Cheers,
Postive performance by the US, but did anyone notice how the ball didnt roll as well on the grass as it should? The commentators briefly mentioned this in the begining.
Wish I had been there. After shelling out a couple of hundred for midfield seats, United Airlines left me stranded in Philly while my buddy languished at the Newark airport, finally trying his luck on the parking lot you guys in the east call ‘freeways’. Two very unlucky souls.
Hard to cheer a 0-0 tie, except for the 78K of you who came out…maybe, just maybe the ESPN’s of the world will ‘get it’ that you’d have a bigger audience for these types of friendly’s than the UCI anteaters vs LSU.
Yea, I don’t get why call up Cooper and then not even dress him
@Posted by: Sushant | June 09, 2008 at 11:17 AM
you do realize Messi was out there right? He was more than welcome to try finishing some of his own runs.
Oh but yeah, no Tevez, too bad they ONLY had Julio f’n Cruz. Please. We played well for being the #21 team vs. #1. You can’t just ‘throw away’ saves. It’s Timmy’s job and he is one of the 5 best in the world at it IMO. He did his job and kept Argentina off the board.
@Posted by: Tom | June 09, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Why would be explain the ‘offsides’ rule when the ‘offside’ rule is the one used in soccer and ‘offsides’ is the one used in American football? Sorry I had to. 🙂
You are right though. Johnson needs to be FAR more aware of where he is.
@Posted by: Sushant | June 09, 2008 at 11:17 AM
you do realize Messi was out there right? He was more than welcome to try finishing some of his own runs.
Oh but yeah, no Tevez, too bad they ONLY had Julio f’n Cruz. Please. We played well for being the #21 team vs. #1. You can’t just ‘throw away’ saves. It’s Timmy’s job and he is one of the 5 best in the world at it IMO. He did his job and kept Argentina off the board.
@Posted by: Tom | June 09, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Why would be explain the ‘offsides’ rule when the ‘offside’ rule is the one used in soccer and ‘offsides’ is the one used in American football? Sorry I had to. 🙂
You are right though. Johnson needs to be FAR more aware of where he is.
Great game. We were completely overmatched in this game from a talent perspective, and yet we still come out with a draw. Very encouraging stuff. I don’t know what got into them or if Bradley gave a great speech, but they need to make this the norm and we’ll win a lot more games.
Steve: Your proposed lineup is a thing of beauty. Get on the phone to Bradley right now!
I was at the match, one section over from Sam’s Army. What a great atmosphere! The entire stadium was rocking, especially in the last few minutes. Howard’s performance was reminiscent of Keller vs. Brazil. (Keller was honored before the match; maybe some of his magic rubbed off on Howard.) EJ was a bit better than he was in Europe, but still woeful. His first touch on the great ball in the box – with Adu streaking in! – was, as Ives might say, tragic. I think his “injury” on the play was just a case of severe embarrassment.
I did enjoy this game Congra to LD, Finally Bradley make the right move in the second half living Donovan playing side with Freddy Adu, bringing Edu in but should of left Michael Bradley in both in the middle I like that and take out Moestreni instead. Out front I was impress with how Eddie Johnson played this game, but I think we need a big guy at front next to him.I like the defend was very strong impress on how califf played. I saw USA Team play with heart and still we need more adjustment and like I said before, maybe next time I can see this kind of mixed of Veteran and the youngester playing together it give us speed, control and experience. We need to hold the ball much creat more dangers passed in the middle put the ball on the ground instead of too much long balls for the typical counter attack. thats why Adu, Beasley and Donovan can creat that. GO USA, Lets Take BARBADOS and the rest of the other teams.
I like to see this format 4,3,1,2 and this lineup for next time
——-Josy Altidore—-Eddie Johnson——
—————Landon Donovan————-
Marcus Beasley ————– Freddy Adu
————–Micheal Bradley————
Pierce—–Califf—-Oyewoue—–Cherendulo
—————-Tim Howard—————
I did enjoy this game Congra to LD, Finally Bradley make the right move in the second half living Donovan playing side with Freddy Adu, bringing Edu in but should of left Michael Bradley in both in the middle I like that and take out Moestreni instead. Out front I was impress with how Eddie Johnson played this game, but I think we need a big guy at front next to him.I like the defend was very strong impress on how califf played. I saw USA Team play with heart and still we need more adjustment and like I said before, maybe next time I can see this kind of mixed of Veteran and the youngester playing together it give us speed, control and experience. We need to hold the ball much creat more dangers passed in the middle put the ball on the ground instead of too much long balls for the typical counter attack. thats why Adu, Beasley and Donovan can creat that. GO USA, Lets Take BARBADOS and the rest of the other teams.
I like to see this format 4,3,1,2 and this lineup for next time
——-Josy Altidore—-Eddie Johnson——
—————Landon Donovan————-
Marcus Beasley ————– Freddy Adu
————–Micheal Bradley————
Pierce—–Califf—-Oyewoue—–Cherendulo
—————-Tim Howard—————
I don’t think Cooper dressed, which makes his call up even stranger.
I remember one time watching a MNT game that was being called by Marcelo Balboa. One of our guys, I can’t recall who at the moment, missed a very makeable shot from about 12-15 yards out. His comment was “At this level, you simply cannot miss that.” EJ, Gooch, and Dempsey need to listen to this VERY OBVIOUS advice. When you’re playing for your country against the top teams in the world, you simply have to finish, because chances are THEY will finish on you. Fortunately for us, Argentina wasn’t finishing either. That game could have easily been 3-0 Argentina at the half.
That said, I had mentioned on another thread that I would, for once, like to see the U.S. play a big time opponent with the best available talent at each position. I know they have to assess all the players in the pool in these friendlies, but sometimes I think we should just play to win. Losing to Spain didn’t hurt so much because I thought we played decently, and their goal was in large part due to a phenomenal individual effort. However, I HATED losing to England, mainly because of all the smack they talk, particularly their press, and what a difficult bunch of malcontents their fans are. We simply got intimidated, and played miserably. I really hope we’ve seen the last of Ricardo Clark…painful to see how many bad spots he puts us in.
As well, whether some here would like to admit it or not, the U.S. is always a better and more potent team with LD on the field…no question.
Sushant – I wasn’t at all pleased with the US for the first 25ish mins, but I highly suggest you watch the second half before questioning the optimism. I truly think that was the best half I’ve seen us play since 2002 WC.
A-man – I am looking at all three games. You know what I learned from England and Spain? This is Donovan’s team, they all follow him. Without him, we’re not the same team.
As far as reasons for optimism, here’s what I was thinking right after the game:
– we have a Top 5 GK in the world.
– our backline is finally set, with Pearce and Cherundolo claiming both wingback spots; plus Demeritt and Califf look like quality reserves.
– I can’t wait to see Adu and Donovan play at the same time, with even an adequate finisher like Dempsey or Jozy up top. As was said by another writer, the US now has two players in Adu and Donovan who scare anyone in the world.
I’ve been waiting for Feilheiber to claim his spot next to Bradley, but it looks like that won’t happen. So, in the meantime, how about:
—————Jozy————–
—DMB——–Donovan——Adu—
——–Bradley—-Mastro/Edu—-
Pearce—-Boca—-Gooch—-Dulo–
————-Howard————–
This lets Bradley play the two destroyers he likes so much, but DMB/Donovan/Adu should help us maintain possesion. Plus, it frees up Pearce and Dulo to come forward more, which is a big part of both of their games. This leaves Dempsey on the bench, but his form is off right now and I think he would see plenty of time as first sub anyway.
I would also like to see more Sasha.. i really like his attacking attitude
I did enjoy this game Congra to LD, Finally Bradley make the right move in the second half living Donovan playing side with Freddy Adu, bringing Edu in but should of left Michael Bradley in both in the middle I like that and take out Moestreni instead. Out front I was impress with how Eddie Johnson played this game, but I think we need a big guy at front next to him.I like the defend was very strong impress on how califf played. I saw USA Team play with heart and still we need more adjustment and like I said before, maybe next time I can see this kind of mixed of Veteran and the youngester playing together it give us speed, control and experience. We need to hold the ball much creat more dangers passed in the middle put the ball on the ground instead of too much long balls for the typical counter attack. thats why Adu, Beasley and Donovan can creat that. GO USA, Lets Take BARBADOS and the rest of the other teams.
I like to see this format 4,3,1,2 and this lineup for next time
——-Josy Altidore—-Eddie Johnson——
—————Landon Donovan————-
Marcus Beasley ————– Freddy Adu
————–Micheal Bradley————
Pierce—–Califf—-Oyewoue—–Cherendulo
—————-Tim Howard—————
I don’t think that Donovan looked rusty at all. In fact I was surprised at how sharp he was after not playing the last two games (and missing out on his Galaxy games too). Like Adu, he kept Argentina on their toes with his quickness and changes of pace and direction.
Pearce was great, too. And Howard? Sh*********t… Like Harkes said, he had Cruz’s number, bigtime. I hope that his double save on Cruz in the first half made the ESPN top 10 plays of the day. It deserves it.
A-man- again, we are optimistic b/c we dont hold a “high and mighty” opinion on our team…. a tie against that top notch of a team with that caliber is quite impressive…
we have another 2 years before we have to concern ourselve with consistantly scoring… at which point if Jozy, Cooper, Roger, Bernardo, etc.. do not pan out, we can only pray that with 2 more seasons in europe EJ learns how to be a forward O.o
anyhow, the vast majority of us are just excited by the result in comparison to our performances over the past few weeks… it was definately a step forward…
Will- b/c Bradley had an option for EJ… in fact he had 2 options after Dempsey was subbed…
1) Kenny Cooper
2) Kljestan for EJ, donovan up top
BB opted for number 2 :(… i wanted Cooper to get some time..
Nice article Ives, but I thought Califf rated higher than a 5. For those of you downplaying this game, I was at the Argentina-Mexico match and Mexico was absolutely shredded. In other words, the Albiceleste is no pushover. I know we owe alot to Tim Howard, but for the US to draw that Argentina team is still pretty damn impressive. Also, hats off to all the east coast fans at the game — the stadium atmosphere looked truly electric (no pun intended 🙂
Tickets still left for the Barbados qualifier in L.A. Who’s going???
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/090040A7D867622F
I agree with Sushant- you guys are a bit too optimistic.
I do not really see the difference from the 2006 World Cup: the US can compete with anybody on a good day, but no one can score. The team is always bailed out by their world-class GK, otherwise the game is out of hand quickly just like against the czeck in 06.
dempsey needs to add defending to his game. he disappears when the other team has the ball. much like johnson they act as if they are to important to be bothered with defending. thet should both watch tape of beasley. ives your 4 and 6 rating is about 2 points high for either johnson or dempsey.
Not that I think Duece has been a world beater in these friendlies but i did notice yesterday that he was left on an island alot when it came to attacking.. and when that happened he seemed to pout a bit after loosing the ball. But the times when he had support it seemed like there was some nice attacking play and he seemed to back track better then too..
I don’t know if Pablo started with a yellow, but he got the yellow that became red for messing with the ball in a deadball situation.
I’m very happy with this result, but why is NO ONE mentioning the fact that Bradley had no backup on the bench for Johnson? Dempsey gets subbed, Johnson goes down to injury and we’re essentially f–ked.
I’ll take a “not very good” Cruz anytime.
Good thing Inter-Milan the top team in Italy doesn’t think the same.
Cruz is a freak of nature, he’s got to be 6-5 or 6-6 and has the same foot skills as highly skilled guys @ 5-8.
The U.S. counterattack was really effective in the end when we were down to 10 men. Our boys up front have got some wheels and it was a joy watching them cruise down the field with some good passing, even if it didn’t result in a goal.
A.S. – I wish the US had a “not very good” striker like Cruz that will go at defenders.
ESC = Legends
100min. of singing, 90 degrees, thunderstorms…no match for “The Famous”. Mother Nature ain’t got s*** on us! Take notes, visitors 😛
Shaking hands with Midnight Riders and Sons of Ben (and promptly washing them, lol). Awkward pleasant exchanges with dudes in DC United hats. Gotta love it all.
Greatest night ever.
My father is a huge sports fan, but is one of those Americans who just doesn’t get the beautiful game. However, he really enjoys being at big events, and since Big Brown was going for a Triple Crown on the same weekend, I was able to convince my dad to fly to New York with me for a sports weekend. My biggest fear was that we would see a 0-0 draw and I would never be able to get him to come to another game. The game was so good that he never even mentioned the scoreline to me (and normally he rags on me throughout soccer games I make him watch on tv). After the game was over- unprompted- he told me it was a very exciting game, and even the fact that we got poured on didn’t dampen our mood (like the pun?). Anyway, the crowd was great, the players responded, and it was an all around great evening for any USMNT fan.
EA – I agree. I still have my doubts that SA will be hosting the tournament. Too many thugs on the rampage.
Agree with all. Timmy’s foul was a penalty, could not have been more clear – especially if you saw the one Croatia got against Austria earlier. However, given how well he was playing Timmy may have stopped the penalty!! Really a gear feat for the US.
As much as I love USMNT I have to admit the sterility of our side. It seems that our game is a “high standard” basic game. We receive, pass, kick really well, but there is no passion/emotion on the way we play. With the exception of Donovan (and later Adu, but again can’t tell if he can play with flair all 90 min)we are just too plain jane. It is almost like stick around, knock around and hope for a goal on a set-piece. Sure we can kick the socks of Barbados and other minnows, but we will never be a real powerhouse unless we create more players like Landon.
Overall a great result, but remember it was a friendly. Didn’t Venezuela beat Brazil the other day?
For what it’s worth, the best central midfield I’ve seen the US field in the past two years has been Bradley and Feilhaber. If both can get in form at the same time I’d love to see them pair up again, as when they did last time I saw them, the game they played was closest to an effective midfield.
Also, I know we are talking about the US team here, but after watching Argentina against Mexico and the US, I can safely say that Julio Cruz is the Eddie Johnson of the Argentine side. Not to take anything away from Timmy Howard, but Cruz is just not very good. Lucky for them, they have a real, proven striker to turn to (and we don’t).
Am I the only one that last night was USSF’s pitch to FIFA to host the World Cup in 2010?
South Africa has had mass killings, blackouts and is waaaaaay behind on building stadia?
The US packs an 80,000 seat stadium in brutal heat for a friendly?
Seems like a no-brainer.
Frank- we are excited about the tie b/c we are realists in the fact that we dont create an illusion around our team as being a “top footballing nation”… we realize that we are sub-par and a tie against one of the top teams, whether it be in the US, Spain, or Mars, is still a victory and shows that when applied, we are capable of playing with the big boys…
BTW, on the Mastro red card, what I thought I saw (without having watched the TV) was the ref showing the yellow to Edu and immediately turning (with the yellow still held aloft) to Mastro to show it to him too. I assumed it was for dissent, but could have been for timewasting/throwing the ball away I guess. Then the ref put down the card to get out his book, the Argies pointed out to the ref that Mastro already had a yellow, so the ref had to give the red – I think it was clear that the ref didn’t remember he had already given Mastro a yellow and only when it was pointed out to him did he run over to show the red (which was, like a minute later). I’ll bet that the ref wouldn’t have given the second yellow if he’d have remembered that Mastro was already booked once.
BTW, as for Edu, I thought he was completely outclassed for the first 20-25 minutes, but did pick up his play toward the end.
while Arg. had their chances at glory, they failed to put them away… whether it be bad placing or amazing saves, the fact remains our defense held them to 0 goals… a team that just recently put 4 past Mexico… that could very well have been if not for Timmy’s amazing game….
BUT, i truely didnt see any weak performances… while everyone enjoys getting down on MB, i tend to be reserved on joining the bandwagon… I stand firm that it seemed that NOONE was making the runs to get open when MB had the ball.. therefore forcing him to to easy pass backs or try to thread the needle with a pass… wasnt his strongest game, but then again wasnt his weakest… everyone loves to point out all the mistakes he has, but noone points out that LD fouled up just as much throughout the game… am i getting down on LD?? not this game, but im sure ill be more cirtical on later games… merely pointing out others have just as many mistakes yet tend to get overlooked by mere potential or an occasional great play
i agree with most that BB needs to find a way to get Adu and LD on the field at the same time….
Kljestan played amazing for his stint…. he opened the field and nearly had a chance on goal… took too long tho :-/
it was a well played game and despite Sushant’s standpoint, it does give hope… we simply arent the best nation in football, and we will have to continue to grow… holding the “#1” team in the world to a 0-0 tie is promising… if we can continue to play those types of games the results will come… we just need forwards now O.o
Settle down everyone. 0 goals in three games. Excitement over a tie. Yes, Argentina is the #1 team in the world but they were missing some starters and overall played a bad game. Also the US were playing at home. The US still has a long way to go to not be excited about a tie at home. Plus there was a horrible no-call on the penalty in the second half. You have to take the three games as a whole.
Sushant what is wrong with a little bit of optimism? The boys played well last night especially compared to their last two outings…and I don’t think anyone is predicting them to win WC 2010 or anything. Granted they were on the back foot for the first half hour but they survived and were able to “bite back.” that’s what I know I wanted to see. What’s wrong with Tim Howard making spectacular saves to keep them in the game? Isn’t that his job? And of course he won’t do that every game but what striker will convert 100% of his chances. I think Pablo was a steadying force in the midfield and until Michael and Bradley and Maurice Edu (or Benny Feilhaber) gain a little bit more experience he is a good presence to have in there. What I can’t understand though is not giving Kenny Cooper a run-out. I am not saying he is the answer but can he be any worse than Johnson? At least he is scoring goals for his club team. Heath Pearce is getting better and better with every match and he might be finally turning in to the LB everyone thougt he would be, I was particularly impressed with his crossing ability. Cherundolo just looked tired. And it looks like LD is carrying some of that new ‘tude to his international game as well. Still a lot of questions with this team but I think a great boost heading into Qualifying.
The energy at the stadium was just awesome, and Howard definitely played a hell of a game. I’m still a bit annoyed that Adu didn’t start, but what can you do? EJ needs to sit…seriously.
When you are at the game you see 100 times more than on TV. (ie Beasley up & down the field tracking back on D vs Dempsey loligaggin back and not knowing where Maxi Rodgigues was the entire game)
I went to a US -Guatemala game a few years back at Giants stadium during the Gold Cup and almost got pummeled from all the Guatemala fans. Last night I felt maybe just maybe the US fans have arrived, myself included.
The last 10-15 minutes I think we really started to get “it”.
Clap Clap Clap-Clap-Clap Clap-Clap-Clap – US. I swear I heard this on the way to work this morning.
Sam’s Army is unbelievable. 90 minutes of cheering, singing standing. Outdueling Argentina fans at the other end of the stadium. It was crazy.
On the field. Howard top 5 goalie in the world, right now.
Pearce -impressive all around.
Donovan – dangerous & quick
Adu – see Donovan
Beasely – energizer bunny
Mastroeni – maybe more like Gattuso vs. poor man’s Gattuso
Dolo – Don’t know, some good, more bad in my opinion
Dempsey -still lack 100% energy, needs rest
Bradley – see Dempsey
Gooch -good in the air, shaky on the ground, need to be paired with highly skilled center back.
Califf – see Gooch
Demeritt – pleasant surprise. think he’s underated. Goes in HARD!
EJ – off the ball runs good, defensive work good. One vs one no good. Its all mental with this guy. Bradley knows it.
Edu – smooth needs to play a little quicker
Kljestan – solid. Should have taken the shot earlier. young guy got nervous.
WOW! What a crowd what an experience, finally a home game and the boys on the field heard it!! Donavan ran at players, mastro was the rock in the middle that we miss as the younger players are developing, the defense held up well, gooch is still suspect,pearce impressed and Tim Howard was AMAZING!! EJ made some good runs off the ball and had two good chances, but still has not scored against a big teram! beasley ran his heart out. Dempsey did not impress me, it may be time for more ADU. Bradley has to figure out how he can get beasley landon freddy dempsey all on the field together, b/c they are not afraid to attack, then find a forward to put the ball away….JOZY? USA!!!
Ives–we need more information on the Pablo red card. Did the ref confuse him with Edu? Or did he say something? Usually, Pablo’s red cards are always justified. This time I really don’t think he did anything.
Really good effort overall. We need to just put more shots on goal. How many saves did we force their keeper to make? Gooch’s header was the best chance but its clear EJ doesn’t want to shoot. Even on that breakaway where he ended up on the ground he was passing the ball across the box! Give Cooper a chance, right now. He’s better in the air anyways. Also, Edu played really well when he came in. Hopefully in a couple of years it will be Edu/Bradley in the center midfield, letting Bradley attack more.
I took two friends of mine to the game, one who I grew up with playing soccer, and another who is a sports fan, but not a big soccer guy and had never been to a live soccer match before.
At the end of the game, I turned to the friend that had never been to a live game before and said that it was too bad you didn’t get a goal out of this game. He said that he was impressed by how the teams attacked and was proud of the fact that the US players really showed that they weren’t going to take any guff from the Argentines. He had a great time.
I’d love to say that we created a lot of new fans last night.
I don’t understand all the optimism!
Granted, I only saw the first half, but that was *not* a good half.
In the first 25 minutes, Argentina had complete control. If they had a better finisher OR Timmy wasn’t spectacular, we would have been down 3-0. You are telling me that Messi or Aguero (or Torres or Rooney or Gerrard) wouldn’t have put away one of the those?
After about the 25 minute mark (till the end of the half), we seemed to be able to play with them. We created some good chances, but nothing really dangerous. Even then, Timmy had to make *another* great save to keep Argentina off the board.
So, in the first half, your goalkeeper makes 4 outstanding saves and you are optimistic? Timmy is not going to save all of those chances, every game.
The key for us is a midfield that holds possession, makes good passes and springs a wing or the forward with a good chance. I saw Adu do that against Spain but unfortunately we had EJ on the receiving end of those passes (how many times is he offside?!?!).
I haven’t seen the 2nd half (but am planning to), but I don’t get the optimism.
Think of it this way. If Timmy only makes 3 out of the 4 great saves he made just in the first half, the score would be 1-0 Argentina. Would you have *any* hope of tie or a win?
Based on the first half, I would say no.
My complaint is that BB picked EJ over Adu. I know they don’t play the same position, but if he had picked Adu, then either Landon or Dempsey would have been forward. I think we are a much better team with Adu, Landon and Dempsey on at the same time.
I would also say that I would have gone with Eddie Lewis over DMB in the first half. DMB isn’t a better player than E. Lewis right now.
I would also say that Mastro (in the first half) showed that he’s better than Rico Clark as a holding mid. If M. Bradley feels he can get involved in the offense more with Mastro around, then keep Mastro in. Otherwise, go with the Edu – MB pairing.
My sense is that BB wants Adu as a super sub, capable of changing the course of the game. The problem is that until Adu comes in, we don’t maintain possession, and make good passes to spring someone. Against the good/great team we have just played, that strategy just means that Adu comes in when we are down 1-0 or 2-0.
Sign me pessimistic (not against the CONCAF opponents but against good/great teams).
I took my two sons (6 and 8 years old) to the game last night — their first live US game. We drove up from Philadelphia in the big family van along with another dad and 4 other young boys. My sons were both completely wide-eyed at the wholde spectacle, and when we got home at midnight, my oldest son said, “Dad, that was the greatest experience of my life so far.”
I thought the best part of the game was seeing how a lot of new/casual USA fans who went to the game saw that even the dreaded nil-nil tie can be really exciting. The tension built and built and built until the heavy rain and lighting came — drawing huge cheers — and the crowd was just going all out in the last 10 minutes or so. A goal at the end would have touched off the powderkeg.
Ives–
Next time you speak to Bob Bradley, can you ask him to explain the offsides rule to EJ?