Photo by ISIphotos.com
If the U.S. men's national team's 2-0 victory against Guatemala was a glimpse into the future for the United States, then that future sure looks bright after several young standouts took full advantage of the chance to show that they plan on being factors in 2009 World Cup qualifying.
Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Kenny Cooper and Sacha Kljestan were all impressive in the U.S. team's handling of a Guatemalan squad that, to be fair, was a young team missing several key veterans as a new coach shook up his squad. Guatemalan B team or not,The Fab Four Americans certainly had to impress U.S. coach Bob Bradley, while also exciting fans that had been waiting months to see them all play together.
What did you think of last night's performance. Did Freddy Adu restore your faith in him? Were you happy to finally see the Kenny Cooper-Jozy Altidore tandem (or as I like to call them, the People's Tandem) in action? Were you disappointed with Jonathan Bornstein's return to the national team fold? Did the match leave you excited at what lies ahead in the Hexagonal Round of qualifying?
Share your thoughts on last night's match in the comments section below.
Betinho,
You make a valid point. as someone stated before, the mental game is very important. I think though with some players its not a case of they cant handle Europe so much as they get sent to a level or part of Europe that is too tough for them. They need to progress at a pace that is just right for them and somewhere that suits their style of play. Kljestan would be good for Netherlands because it fits his style of play, and its not too tough or easy on him.
But keeping players in the home country seems to work for Italy Ex: Pirlo.
Everyone is overlooking Goodson’s performance last night. He was by far the best of our backline. If you TIVO’d or DVR’d the match and plan on watching again. Watch every set piece the Guats had and every cross that entered the box. Goodson’s head was on easily 75% of them. He could have easily been MOTM. To suggest Adu should start over Vandon or Deuce is like suggesting Eskimo’s need ice trays. It is just retarded.
Dempsey and Donovan are our 2 best in our front 6.
Only goal scored in WC06 and most international goals. for a shaky kid who gets 2 minutes a match????? That’s stupid.
I was impressed with Cooper and Altidore together. It was refreshing to see them attacking and opening up the offensive end of the field. What surprised me most with Cooper were his crosses. He had a few to Altidore and one that dropped to Sacha (who blew the finish). After seeing Bradley this weekend I could see Cooper drifting out wide and crossing to Bradley making a run through the middle of the box.
Also, I am not impressed with Sacha. I see some of the things he is trying to do and I like the thought but the execution is not there yet. I like his style of play and hope he can sharpen his game up some. However, I do not think he should be starting for a full strength US National Team game.
All in all this was Guatemala. They had a lineup that was not their strongest and looked defeated before the game started. The other home qualifying games the US was dominant as well and one game by players who deserved a shot does not mean they should be automatic starters. I think many players deserve more looks and that we can be confident with different players starting and on the bench but it was obvious to me that the core of the team was missing.
Many of you seem surprised by how well Goodson played. He was the Norwegian League’s player of the year after transferring from FC Dallas. While that is indeed a bush league, POY for a central defender is pretty impressive.
Also, Edu has been playing like garbage recently. Maybe his future is at CB. I think Mastro and Clark are better choices to play instead of Bradley.
4now i generally like your roster, but will quibble with Gibbs & Subotic and would suggest Orozco and maybe Simek/Wynee. No on Quaranta and maybe Szetela or Holden instead. I love Holden’s work rate and his ability to play all 4 midfield positions. I think Ching should be a close consideration, also.
Again, sillyness to think that Cooper should start over Donovan at forward.
All the people on here for about 6 months whining about Cooper not getting a call-up and BOOM!!!!!!!!!! There you have the reason. The only concern about Jozy and Kenny is they are strong and play physical. In Europe and in the WC that type of play tends to yield way to fouls and yellows. I liked what I saw, that is until Ching checked in and our entire attack left the field.
Another thing is many on here including a certain writer for ESPN? have argued the consistency of Ching may be what we need but after seeing that match and that attack, I feel good about the future. If not 2010 than 2014.
Add Vandon Donowan and Deuce to that attack with the speed of DeMarcus and we have a squad with a serious threat.
Sacha has been playing so well for club and country. He is definately going to Europe more specifically the Netherlands.
“the older guys seem to be too afraid to take on players these guys are not”
I’ve been mulling something over for awhile that may seem a little rediculous: US players going to Europe isn’t the best thing for US soccer. And it’s precisely because of the point Alex makes above. They get to the EPL, etc and lose their confidence. They realize just what they are up against and become tenative. I’m not married to this theory at all but it came to me while watching Dempsey. When he was with the Revs he wasn’t afraid of taking on anyone. After being with Fulham he’s become more hesitant to do so. Even Adu – when he’s not playing at an under age tournament or against a CONCACAF minnow, he’s hesitant. Maybe “ignorance is bliss” is good for our guys. A false sense of “we are as good as anybody” attitude would allow them to play with less fear. Just a thought.
Ha! I forgot the goalie so that changes, beas at left back klejstian on the left donovan next to bradely.
Why do you guys pick simek and others over chad marshall? That guy is a beast. Can you imagine a gooch marshall paring, good god!! luca toni be ware!!
Beasley is not reliable. Yes, he’s a great player but has a lot of injury problems and hasn’t even been making the bench for Rangers the past couple of weekends.
I thought the game was awesome. I think colorado should never get another qualifier..sorry! I think going forward e.jonson and b.convey have lost there spots. The team that was on the field last night isn’t the future it’s the present team they need to be the ones to take over games because the older guys seem to be too afraid to take on players these guys are not. First game in the hex the lineup will be.
forawds: altidore and ching
underneath: landon
mid: beasley,bradely,klejstian,dempsey
defense:spector,gooch,boca,cherundolo
the subs
forwards: cooper,davies
mids: adu,edu,rogers,masteroni(suspended)torres
defense: pearce,orozco,wynne,marshall
I was at the game last night 6 rows off the floor behind Guats goal (second half). Freddy’s goal was out and out artistry. This was a confident group. It was difficult to find a player out of place. I look forward to watching the tape tonight.
@brentmcd –
“his goal was a gift from Jozy, and he got lucky it went through the keeper’s legs”
Really? Luck? Now I’m not going to say Cooper intentionally put the ball between the keepers legs. What I am saying is that Cooper got on the end of that ball in a difficult situation, and put that ball on frame. Where exactly did you want him to place that shot? How many options do you think he had with a defender on him, falling to the ground and stretching to make contact with the ball?
I’m also not a fan of the reasoning that Jozy was mostly responsible for the goal. Yes, he had the assist, but Cooper still had to finish it. How many times do you hear that someone else was responsible for the goal when Ruud VanNistelroy scores, or Raul, or Messi, or Rooney? C’mon…strikers #1 job is to finish. Cooper did.
I’m not saying Cooper had a perfect game by any means, but he did score a goal and he did link up well several times in the attack. Job well done IMO, and a positive step toward strengthening the team (especially the striking department) ahead of WC 2010.
Klejsten had his best game as a Nat team member. I can’t remember one mis-step. If he puts togethre a few performances like that in a row…he’s got to be on the field.
As far as the subject of competition – I’m not so certain Beasley and Dempsey have their positions locked up (and they are 2 of my personal faves). In fact the only positions that seemed locked in are Howard, Boca (wish he could distribute like Parkhurst), Gooch, Bradley and Donovan. There’s not much separating the rest of the positions. I would put Jozy in the locked in category but not sure Bob would agree.
wow, how quickly we forget about clint dempsey. For me, he’s a constant threat and plays with a swagger I don’t think anybody else on the team has. Mental is a big part of this game too. Don’t forget about that. The young guns did well for themselves last night, to be sure. I think people are being a little hard on Freddy. I think he had a strong game. He tries hard, he could try harder on defense, but let’s be honest, we’d always have a libero type player covering our more attack minded mids anyway, so that doesn’t bother me at all. Well done, boys. Keep up the good work.
My 23-man roster:for the next Hex match
GK:Howard,Guzan,Hahnemann
DF:Wynne,Bocanegra,Onyewu,Cherundolo,Pearce,
DeMerit,Parkhurst,Goodson
MF:Dempsey,Bradley,Kljestan,Adu,Edu,Szetela,
Beasley,
FW:Donovan,Altidore,Cooper,Ching,Davies
4-4-2 with Donovan and Jozy up top, Dempsey and Beasley on the wings, Bradley and Kljestan in the center, Pearce and Cherundolo on the back outside and Bocanegra and Gooch in the back inside and of course Timmy in goal. Thats probably my lineup. Its also a pretty likely lineup and roster. The good thing is that Bradley cant call up Mastroeni in place of Cooper because of the mustard accumulations.
I looked closely at Cooper the whole game.
He didn’t play that well IMHO. but not badly either.
Losts of hand shoving, and he got called for it. Looked like Gouch a few years back.
Had a few good defensive moments. But seems slow in shooting. Lost quite a few balls at the top of the box. I saw that in his last few MLS game
The kid that should be paired with Altidor is recoverying from tonsilitis. Davies. That’s the pairing I want to see.
Speed to burn A younger Ching is not that useful.
I think everyone who thinks Adu played great is blinded by his goal. Did any one see how many bad corners he took in the game? Missed passes? long touches? Lack of defense and hussle?
I was happy with Alticooper up front and even the rest of the mids but Adu was very inconsistent.
Kevin, are you on crack? BB will never put out a XI in a meaningful match w/o Donovan unless he’s injured. Nor should he. You really think Cooper, Kljestan, Beasley and Adu have all earned the place rather than Donovan?
i think that Klejstan impressed me the most with his play. he was solid in the mid-field.
I just don’t see how folks are in love with Kljestan. He is woefully inconsistent and for my money, he’s battling Torres for a spot in 2010. And I take Torres. Kljestan works hard and can sometimes hit a good pass, but he can also make some bad giveaways, seems to often press too hard to make a play and plays matador D quite often. We really need Sztela to develop and what about Beckerman? Captain of his squad, an offensive threat and provides defensive bite, I think he really needs to get a look. Quaranta too, I love that kid.
Go Jo-Coo!
I agree with above, how do you put all these guys on the field together? Rogers, Holden, & Wynne need to get their opportunities. With a Cooper/Jozy up front and Davies as a sub, how do you play a Torres, Bradley, Sacha, Dempsey, Donovan, Adu, Rogers, Beasley? Loving the depth and it is building in the back as well. Its a good position for us to be in.
what about clark? why not the fab 5? he had a great night as well. He played some excellent balls to the forwards.
Out of the 5, I could see Altidore OR Cooper AND Sacha having shots at getting starts in the early going of next round. Adu and Clark will maybe get called, and maybe get subbed….Until we get to the top of the group and play our weaker players again.
Do you think BB would go into the first final round game without 2 defensive central midfielders and that sacha-bradley is a real possibilty?
—-altidore
—————-donovan
beasley——–Dempsey
——Sacha—Bradley——
Pearce, gooch, boco, dolo
———–howard———
sub cooper and ching for forwards
sub adu and eddie lewis for wings
sub edu or clark in central midfield
start pablo over bradley or sacha when he gets out of foul trouble
sub bornstein for left back
sub subotic 😛 for right back
sub guzan for howard
Ohh and add Rogers to my choice for midfield.
MY WC starting XI
Howard
Pearce/Spector Gooch Bocanegra Cherundolo
Bradley Kljestan
Dempsey Adu
Altidore Cooper
But i want Donovan involved. Might be best as a sub or in Dempsey’s place.
Did anyone else have a problem with the CMU football game running over. I DVRed it, so I only saw the first goal. I watched the Adu goal on ESPN. That was F’ing beautiful. I wish I could have watched the full second half because from what I’ve read, the team looked really good. Hopefully, Bradley now sees that he has some choices and will tinker with different pairings of the new and old.
Any chance EJ could be 1 of those strikers come the next WC? Look at Emile Heskey, crappy striker but quite effective when paired with a speedy little forward. Consider it, with his play improving at Cardiff, maybe EJ should be considered for a super-sub slot.
Our backline for the WC
Pearce Gooch Bocanegra Cherundolo
Additional Defenders?
Spector Parkhurst Wynne DeMerit Califf
4 strikers? I’d say that’s decent. With Cooper-Altidore and their potential no need for a 5th striker. Davies should be an excellent super-sub to call in around the 75th minute or so. How will Donovan fit in though? He won’t be a sub if he’s playing for BM.
brentmcd – couldn’t agree more. Jozy was the star, Parkhurst was overlooked glue. Cooper has talent but the goal (which was mostly Jozy) is clouding everyone’s view of his overall play.
@4now, Sounds like a great roster man.
But i figure Perkins might get the callup over Hahneman, with his solid play in the Norwegian league. Might be able to transfer to a bigger and talented league before the WC starts.
Subotic is headed for Serbia. Good riddance. If he wants to play with us great, but if not he should just state his intentions. I doubt Serbia even qualify for the WC.
I’d add Szetela in the place of Quaranta.
know i’m in the minority, but i wasn’t that impressed with cooper last night. his first touch was off, and i didn’t see him beat anyone off the dribble. his goal was a gift from jozy, and he got lucky it went through the keeper’s legs. call me underwhelmed. would have liked to see rolfe who has been on form.
on the other hand, i was very impressed with altidore. he seems to have really progressed in his short time in spain. kljestan continues to impress as well. thought parkhurst had a nice game too.
i have no idea why mastroeni continues to get called up. do we really expect him to go to south africa? rico looked better than i expected, but he doesn’t hold or dribble the ball enough; he’s always looking for the quick distribution. not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes you’ve got to carry the ball forward yourself, especially if the defense is giving you space.
would like to see more connecting passing through midfield instead of our traditional american boot-ball. with kljestan and bradley, there is hope. really wish that feilhaber would make a comeback.
We finally have the players to help us succeed at the next World Cup. No doubt about it. We have a strong backline and a more or less solid midfield and now the offensive strike force we have so desired over the past few years.
Things I thinked I learned last night:
Altidore – just about ready to be starting, he is as aggressive in & around the box as any US player
Cooper – flashed nicely on the goal (beautiful), but thought he was weak otherwise. No first touch, wasted numerous nice passes, not a good dribbler, and was constantly offsides. Needs time & might have value as a late sub if the US is trailing.
Sacha – I’m convinced; he plays the through-ball as well as anyone other than Donovan. In a 4-4-2, he could be our 2010 starter next to Bradley. Don’t think he can handle the wing, though.
Parkhurst – If only he were taller. Still -great speed, always in position, wonderful passing out of the backline (check out the accuracy on his long balls; freakish). Not sure if he can play fullback, but I think he’s gotta be on the roster in 2010.
Adu – More of the same (good & bad) from him. Good -lots of pace, great first touches, a threat with the ball at his feet. Bad – can be pushed around, doesn’t track back on D, and still a bit immature. Looking more and more like a late sub when the US is trailing.
Clark/Pablo – think they both played well and jumped ahead of Edu for the backup destroyer position behind Bradley. Can’t see them both making the 2010 roster.
Guzan – Promising; needs all the experience he can get, so he must start every time Howard doesn’t.
I just don’t see Klejstan as net positive, but apparently I’m in the minority. To my eyes he had an ok game but not great and I only say ok because he’s had some real poor performances recently. He had a couple of good through balls, but he really does turn the ball over a lot and usually very cheaply. when I see him play on the National team, it always seems to me that he’s the weak link in the midfield.
There is no position where you do not have to drift back. even strikers come back to help a bit in some situations.
adu is too small to be a forward, hed get knocked around like a pinball. bottom line, adu just needs to learn to play some defense. not alot, but enough. then we could all say how he is the second coming of pele.
but i like the progress this team is making. its a bit weak at the back, but we always seem to have a wall in goal. so i like the USMNT chances….
and i LOVE watching el tri look like crap
sascha looked pretty dang good last night, most of his passing and through balls were spot on.
Adu’s playmaking skills are blinding coaches (are you listening, Nowak?) to the fact that he’s too small and defensively suspect in the modern game to play anywhere except up front or in the hole. Play him where he doesn’t have to get back, and he’ll be twice the player.
23 Tickets:
1. Howard
2. Guzan
3. Hannamen
4. Pearce
5. Bocanegra
6. Onyewu
7. Subotic
8. DeMerit
9. Dolo
10. Spector
11. Gibbs
12. Beasley
13. Bradley
14. Edu
15. Dempsey
16. Kljestan
17. Adu
18. Torres
19. Quaranta*
20. Altidore
21. Donovan
22. Cooper
23. Davies
*yes, really.
I don’t see why we count out Bocanegra at left back. Whatever we may have seen years ago, it likely isn’t the same as now, given that he’s playing left back for Rennes every day. And Rennes is the best defensive side in Ligue 1.
I’d play Boca at left back once or twice in the first few hex games just to see how he looks there.
Sean:
I have been a proponent of the Beasley at left back idea for awhile. He’s the perfect solution.
Guys, Bocanegra is not a serious option at LB, especially against higher level competition in the WC. We have seen it and it is not too pretty.
Why are people playing Donovan out of position on the right?
Did everyone send Kenny Cooper flowers for his goal? I swear this site should be renamed Kenny Cooper Fan Club instead of Soccer By Ives.
Sigmund Freud – well between Gold Cup, the Hex, and Confeds our player pool is definately going to get a work out…
about Jan. it may not be as competitive as we may think… what with the odds of Kljestan and Cooper possibly making the move abroad… but that could open the field up for others like Torres to really make his stand…
mig- “Thorington was pretty invisible excepting the (non-)penalty. But nothing came his way to defend”
i respectfully disagree… i think Thor got into the attack quite a bit… i remember saying every couple minutes “is that thorington??” b/c i missed the starting lineup and i noticed he was back at RB… i wouldnt say he was a huge offensive threat, but as a defender he aided in the attack well
i think what caused us to be successfull was the type of lineup we had…. no true wingers… we congested the middle allowing out right and left backs to get up into the attack without causing too many issues…. adu and kljestan ran a more CM role in my eyes which opened the wings for the overlapping runs
Jozy Altidore and Kenny Cooper up top was great. Those two have the speed, height and strength to score. I want to see that for about the next six years.
Freddy Adu looked great. He should start on the USMNT now. He has the quickness to take on players one-on-one in a way no other U.S. player does.
I want to see Adu and Donovan as the left and right or attacking midfielders. How scary would the US attack look with those four on offense?!
Jonothan Bornstein flubbed his attacking opportunities. If the USMNT has too many midfielders, he should not be given a spot.
Bocanegra is a great, smart defender. I always like to see him in the lineup, but it’s good to see the U.S. win without him.
Guzen was fine.
> That January camp should be a competitive place!
Well, if Bob runs the Jan camp like Bruce, or like Bob’s previous Jan camps, it will not include many of the top 10-20 players in the pool. It still might be competitive, but in the context of guys vying for 1-2 fringe spots on future rosters, not in the sense of top playing battling it out to establish the real XI.
garg0yle thanks for the Update and you brough very players in to the list. Keep it coming guys. But please only guy you think can be good for the USA National Team..
I’m extremely happy that Bob bradley started Altidore and Cooper. I was a little shocked to be honest. I’m very excited about our depth. BB will have some hard decisions to make in Feb. The interplay between Altidore and Cooper is what struck me the most. It’s only one game for Cooper so i don’t want to get too excited. I’ve been a supporter of Ching and his work rate and value as a target. Cooper still ahs to prove he can maintain this level of play at this level. I wouldn’t hand it over to him just yet but I’m pulling for him. I loved what I saw.
I’m happy for Freddy. He’s another one that needs to be more consisstant. I love watching him play when he palys like last night. His first past that sent Bornstein into the corner showed great vision and imagination. I knew we’d see a good performance from him after that.
That January camp should be a competitive place!