The U.S. men’s national team will look to take a step closer to qualifying for the CONCACAF Hexagonal tonight when it takes on Cuba in a World Cup qualifier in Havana (ESPN Classic, 8pm).
The Americans come into the match 1-0 in the four-team group after opening group play with a 1-0 victory at Guatemala. Cuba enters 0-1 after losing at home to Trinidad & Tobago.
For some very interesting insight into tonight’s match, check out the Men’s national team blog.
Interesting to note that the game is expected to be played in temperatures surpassing 90 degrees. Between that and the long and bumpy grass field in Havana, the match isn’t likely to be a free-flowing thing of beauty.
If you will be watching tonight’s match please feel free to make this your place to discuss the action. Share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
He’s probably the most prolific card getter on the team at the moment. And his cards always come at bad times.
For instance, his intentional yellow at the world cup was absolutely daft. He knew well he’d be suspended for a big game verse Nigeria, he shouldn’t have taken it. He shouldn’t be getting cards in the first half if he could help it. I dunno.
Let’s please beat T&T comfortably at home. If we irk out another 1-0 win, I’m going to be very, very concerned.
mike bradley will not sit out next game…yesterday was his first card.
six yellow cards in 34 games at heerenveen is not excessive…
the two yellow cards in the olympics were a phantom call and an intentional yellow card…
iwould not cosider him a card machine
Boring? OK. Lacking? Perhaps. But 3 points is 3 points.
The field did not allow for ‘pretty football’, it would not have happened if it was Spain vs Argentina, no chance. Players were tripping over the grass it was so long. Passes over the top had better be chested down any bounce was going to go who knows where the turf was so hard.
Howard was steller, but he was hardly pressed. Credit to the Gooch & Boca, who played well though again had some poor distribution.
Edu was terrible and should have been pulled. Bradley better, but we had little linking up due to the conditions noted. I would have pulled Beez also he has no confidence in his leg it seems; though he was very helpful on defense tracking back as he often does. Dempsey without the goal may have been just after Edu the worst player on the field. Ching played well. He did what Bradley instructed of him. Donovan was also very good. Hejduk and Pearce, seen better but they stuck with the game plan.
Howard – 7
Hejduk – 5
Gooch – 6
Boca -5
Pearce-5
Edu – 3
Bradley -5
Dempsey -5
Beez – 4
Donovon -6
Ching -6
Sacha – 6
Sexy Football -0
Frankly, I’m not impressed. Happy with the win, but not impressed. All of what have become the cliches were true. We’d rather play defense than offense. The roster choices were found to be wanting. Tim Howard was our savior.
It’s a formula. It’s a simple formula.
And that leads to the most depressing cliche of all: It’s a formula that lets us win at Cuba, and go down 3-1 against Turkey.
My comment was not to say that the USA is Germany or has the talent pool that they do, but to say that as Germany is one of the top teams in UEFA, we are one of the tops in CONCACAF…and Liechtenstein and Cuba are bottoms of the respective regions. Thus we should be cleaning up when we play the bottom teams.
And my remark on Dempsey should have said ‘right’, not ‘left’. Dyslexic this morning.