The U.S. men's national team will look to move astep closer to qualifying for the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals tonight by beating Honduras in the marquee match-up of Group B (9pm, FSC).
The Americans are coming off a 4-0 thrashing of Grenada in their first match while Honduras is fresh from a tough 1-0 victory against Haiti.
There should be a handful of lineup changes for the United States from the squad that beat Haiti, with Brian Ching and Benny Feilhaber good candidates to start.
I will be providing commentary throughout the evening, including the pre-match banter, so feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions below. I'm starting things off a little early tonight since I am already at Giants Stadium (and watching Haiti-Grenada).
Enjoy the action.
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FINAL- That's all for me tonight. Feel free to share your thoughts on tonight's match in the comments section below. Thanks for following along.
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FINAL– The win moves USA to 2-0 in Group B and a spot in the quarterfinals. They still haven't technically clinched Group B, but if they play like this against Haiti they will go 3-0 in the group.
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FINAL– Santino Quaranta gets man of the match honors from the media here, and that's well-deserved, but you also have to credit the immediate impact that Benny Feilhaber and Charlie Davies made once they came into the match.
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FINAL- USA 2, Honduras 0. I'll say it again, Dos a Cero, not just for Mexico anymore.
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90th minute– Walter Martinez dives, gets carded for it, and now some Honduras fans are losing their cool and throwing things on the field. Stay classy Honduras.
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90th minute– Feilhaber is clearly on a different level from the other midfielders on the field today. If he stays with the team the USA has a strong chance of winning this tournament.
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87th minute– Cooper shows something with a strong long-range shot, but it goes wide.
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85th minute– Cooper with an open look but his shot goes right to the keeper. Needs to finish that.
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80th minute– Steve Cherundolo with the beautiful cross into the box and Ching puts it home (with his shoulder, but it still counts).
Cooper on for Ching, who gets a nice round of applause.
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79th minute- GOAL USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it's Brian Ching, with the header finish. USA 2, Honduras 0.
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78th minute– And for those wondering, that goal was Santino Quaranta's first goal for the U.S. national team. Talk about great timing and a perfect setting. The fans in Sam's Army/Screaming Eagles are going nuts.
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76th minute– Sweet build-up on that goal. Feilhaber to CHing, back to Feilhaber, to Davies, who lays it off to a streaking Quaranta and the D.C. United star buries it. USA 1, Honduras 0.
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74th minute- GOAL USA!!!!!!!!!!!!! and it's Santino Quaranta with the finish. WOW. Charlie Davies with the pass and Quaranta caps it. Beautiful play and a great story.
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73rd minute– Rogers with a turnover. He looks to be tired now, and doesn't look as sharp as the first half.
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72nd minute– That great play from Davies has actually awakened the Honduras fans, and RFK Stadium was actually shaking for a few seconds.
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70th minute– WOW, Davies nearly blocks a Honduran punt into the net for a goal. SO close to another Stanky Leg dance.
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69th minute– Rigoberto Padilla comes in for Roger Espinoza. How about a hand for the MLS player.
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67th minute– One thing I've noticed is the Honduran crowd being pretty quiet. I think the Honduras fans wore themselves out. Well, so much for that, a Honduras shot wakes them up. Perkins saves it easily.
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63rd minute– Will we see Davies and Feilhaber? The answer is yes. They're about to come in.
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61st minute– Adu, dispossessed again. You know, he's got skill, that's clear to see, but his decision-making is poor and that's a direct result of his lack of playing time on the club level. That's not a rust issue.
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57th minute– Chad Marshall stops Costly AGAIN. Man of the Match is Marshall's right now.
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54th minute– Inexplicable decision there by the Honduran defender, to head a ball out that was going out.
Honduras counters off the failed corner, but Parkhurst intervenes.
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53rd minute– I wouldn't mind seeing Kenny Cooper get his 20 minutes tonight. This is a good match to see what he can do.
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52nd minute– Ching with a missed volley.
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50th minute– Beckerman with a nice play there. He's had his miscues, but I've liked him tonight.
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47th minute– Beckerman stripped by Valladares, then follows up with a bit of an ugly tackle. Will it be Beckerman or Pause who gets the hook tonight?
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47th minute– Honduras' attacking players (save for Costly) don't have the best touch, but they are definitely speedy, making this a good test for the back four.
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HALFTIME– Looks like no subs at halftime for the USA. Bradley is going to let this group figure things out. This tournament is about testing players so I don't have a problem with that. That being said, if things look slow early in the second half you can bet Bradley will have a quick hook.
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HALFTIME– With Ching unlikely to play on turf at Gillette Stadium on Saturday I would put money on him playing as much of tonight's match as possible. This is his first national team game since April 1 (A very good showing against Trinidad & Tobago), and he needs as many games in the Gold Cup as possible to get him closer to ready for Aug. 12th against Mexico. Whether he starts or not is uncertain, but you definitely want him ready and available.
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HALFTIME– USA 0, Honduras 0.
Honduras is definitely feeding off the energy of the crowd, but luckily for the USA, this Honduras team isn't that dangerous. It's also helped that Costly hasn't spent more time up top, where he can cause problems.
The USA midfield of Beckerman and Pause haven't been sharp tonight at all. Pause actually looks tentative at times. Beckerman actually looks very confident, and has delivered several good passes, but he also will get lax and give up a bad turnover.
Subs? Feilhaber for Pause is an absolute must, and Davies for Adu seems like a very real possibility. Ching hasn't been too active either, but he's had very little service to his feet and having Davies next to him will help create some problems for Honduras' back-line. Will Adu really get yanked at the half? He showed some moments, as he always does, but he had some poor plays and that absolutely terrible turnover that led to a Honduras counterattack. Do you let him have a second half, or do you get Davies into the game to apply some pressure to the Honduran back-line with pace?
Rogers looked to force things toward the end of the half, but it was still a very good first half. Marshall and Parkhurst have been classy for the USA, helping put out some potentially dangerous fires.
Perkins hasn't had to make any saves (Martinez did him a favor by sending a breakaway wide) but his service has been poor. You can tell he doesn't have much experience on the international level. This is where you get that experience.
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45th minute– Not the prettiest first half for the Americans to say the least.
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42nd minute– Marshall does very well to stand up Costly. Good night for the Columbus Crew duo so far.
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40th minute– Pearce with a yellow for a pretty harsh challenge. If this were the Confederations Cup that would definitely have been a red card.
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36th minute– What is better from Rogers is his decision-making. My issue with him at the Olympics was that he was too predictable and too content to run the end-line. Now he's being smart, looking for teammates, picking his spots. Much better this tournament.
Freddy Adu goes one-on-one with a defender, tries some dance moves, but can't beat the man and sends a weak shot at the keeper.
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34th minute– Adu with a free header in front of goal but sends it weakly at the goalkeeper.
Robbie Rogers is enjoying another stellar performance. His stock is rising rapidly.
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32nd minute– Beckerman with a costly turnover that Martinez should have finished. Spoils a good early start for Beckerman.
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30th minute– Walter Martinez with a breakaway and puts it in the side-netting. Terrible for Honduras.
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29th minute– Pause with a nice intervention there.
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27th minute– Nice play by Quaranta, USA with some better attacking plays.
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26th minute– Beckerman has had about four or five clever passes to spring teammates tonight. Very well done so far.
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25th minute– Beckerman and Rogers are the standouts early on for the Americans, along with Chad Marshall. Adu needs to pick his spots and be smarter with the ball.
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24th minute– Adu just got caught dancing on the ball and was stripped for a turnover that led directly to a break for Honduras. Bob Bradley is definitely fuming about that play.
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23rd minute– Great ball from Beckerman to Ching, who can't get a shot on frame. Nice pass from the RSL midfielder.
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20th minute– Honduras slowly starting to control the play. American midfielders have lost it a bit.
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19th minute– Honduras with a golden opportunity but Walter Martinez can't get to the ball and Perkins does well to pounce. The U.S. midfield needs to get more possession. Where is Pause tonight?
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17th minute– Honduras applying pressure in the area, but can't get a head on a dangerous cross, Adu does well to bicycle kick a ball out of danger.
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15th minute– NIce back-heel pass from Adu to spring Rogers into the area, but Quaranta can't head Rogers' cross on net. Better from Adu.
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15th minute– Walter Martinez is troubling the U.S. back-line a bit with his speed, but has yet to break through. Interesting to see Costly not being used up top, where he's much more effective.
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12th minute– Headed away.
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12th minute– Adu with a free kick from the wing.
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11th minute– Nice play by Chad Marshall. He looks solid early on.
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8th minute– Pearce with a good early intervention. Americans with a spell of possession now. Knocking it around well until they lose it. Adu with some possession that time.
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6th minute– Looks like Costly is camping out on the right flank. Could he be looking to go at Heath Pearce tonight?
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4th minute– Adu, two possessions, two times dispossessed. Some early nerves perhaps?
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4th minute– Adu loses possession on his first touch. He needs to step up tonight to stake his claim to a continued national team role. Tonight is a great test.
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2nd minute– Some nervy moments for the U.S. defense early on. Honduras is looking to pressure from the start.
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1st minute– Rogers draws an early corner. It's cleared out.
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1st minute– We are under way. Great atmosphere tonight.
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PRE-GAME– Good stat to consider: Nine of 11 American starters are current or former MLS players. Steve Cherundolo and Heath Pearce are the lone players to never play in MLS.
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PRE-GAME– Anthems were just played and Hondurans won that battle, but Sam's Army/Screaming Eagles did their best to belt out a good anthem.
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PRE-GAME– What we're looking for from the USA tonight. Adu being able to keep possession and distribute well under pressure, Ching being able to hold the ball up and find overlapping runners with passes, Cherundolo and Pearce working effectively on the overlap, and Marshall-Parkhurst containing the always-dangerous Costly.
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PRE-GAME– Haiti wins, 2-0, and now it's time for the main event.
The crowd is buzzing. Great atmosphere tonight. RFK does a great job of keeping the noise in the stadium. It is LOUD.
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PRE-GAME– I see the Ching haters are already sharpening the knives. He brings more to the table than hard work people, it's a shame some folks fail to realize or accept that.
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PRE-GAME– Tonight's USA-Honduras game is scheduled for 9pm, so don't go too far after this Haiti-Grenada game (right, like you're watching).
I'm looking forward to the Marshall-Costly and Ching-O. Chavez match-ups tonight.
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PRE-GAME– WOW, so a Grenada defender just dummied a loose ball in the penalty area, leaving it in the path of a Haitian forward, who scores easily. A truly nightmarish mistake. Shockingly bad.
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PRE-GAME– Here is Honduras' lineup (they're listing a 5-2-3, somehow I doubt that's the formation):
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Donis Escober
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Osman Chavez
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Erick Norales
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Mariano Acevedo
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Nery Medina
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Carlos Palacios
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Roger Espinoza
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Melvin Valladares
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Carlos Costly
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Walter Martinez
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Marvin Chavez
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PRE-GAME- If I had to guess I'd say we'll get between 30,000 and 35,000 for tonight's USA-Honduras match. The atmosphere is already starting to intensify and we're still at least 30 minutes from kickoff.
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PRE-GAME– Here is the USA bench for tonight's game:
Luis Robles, Brad Evans, Charlie Davies, Stuart Holden, Benny Feilhaber, Jay Heaps, Kenny Cooper
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PRE-GAME– A fellow reporter just asked me if I thought the New York Red Bulls could beat Grenada. I think they could, though all bets would be off if Shalrie Joseph were healthy.
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PRE-GAME– For some reason Honduras' fans started cheering in unison during the Haiti-Grenada game. They were LOUD. No home field tonight for the USA.
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PRE-GAME– Biggest lineup surprise? No Benny Feilhaber, after being called in for the match.
Adu gets the start, and having the speedy wings of Rogers and Quaranta should work well with Ching and Adu.
Beckerman and Pause did well vs. Grenada, but I am a bit surprised to see them start again. Tonight will offer a much tougher test.
I saw Parkhurst coming in for Clarence Goodson so the back four is what I thought we'd see. It's good to see Ching back healthy.
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PRE-GAME– Here is the USA lineup for tonight's match:
———————Ching———————-
Rogers————-Adu——————Quaranta
————–Beckerman—Pause—————–
Pearce——Parkhust—–Marshall——–Cherundolo
———————–Perkins————————
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PRE-GAME– Crowd is slowly trickling in for the USA-Honduras match and it's look like 70-30 right now, but again, it's still early.
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PRE-GAME– And yes, the Beckham book is "The Beckham Experiment", not "The Beckham Experience". I'll blame that on having taken the book cover off.
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PRE-GAME– So what's the deal with Adu? Good question. He was quoted yesterday as saying he is hearing good things about what his role will be with Benfica this upcoming season, while I have seen other articles suggesting he will be heading out on loan again.
Which is it? I've got no idea. I just hope he is playing and starting regularly wherever he is. That is the only way we will ever see him at his best and get a real sense of what he has to offer the national team.
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PRE-GAME– I am leafing the 'The Beckham Experiment' in between Haitian long-range shots. A good read so far (and no, it isn't all Landon Donovan bashing Beckham).
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PRE-GAME– Will Quaranta get the start tonight? I have him in my projected lineup, and it would certainly be a nice touch. He's played well enough in MLS to merit a look, that's for sure. That said, Stuart Holden played very well vs. Grenada so you can definitely argue that he earned a second straight start.
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PRE-GAME– It is definitely a late-arriving crowd tonight. I have a feeling there's a lot of tailgaiting going on outside RFK right now.
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PRE-GAME– I'm officially convinced that Haitian players can win cash prizes for scoring a goal from outside the box, because they keep taking ill-advised shots from distance.
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PRE-GAME– So why no Adu in my first lineup? Just a hunch, but the more I hear, the more it sounds like Adu could have a last Gold Cup hurrah tonight with a start.
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PRE-GAME– Now, with rumors swirling that Adu is leaving the team in the next game or two in order to return to Portugal for Benfica's pre-season. With that being the case, I could see Bradley giving Adu a start tonight. If he does, we could see this group:
———————-Ching————————-
Rogers————–Adu—————–Quaranta
————-Feilhaber—-Beckerman————-
Pearce—–Marshall——–Parkhurst—Cherundolo
——————–Perkins—————————-
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PRE-GAME– We're about a half hour from a U.S. lineup but if I were projecting right now I'd go with this one:
———–Ching————Davies————-
Rogers———————————-Quaranta
————-Feilhaber—-Beckerman————-
Pearce—–Marshall——–Parkhurst—Cherundolo
——————–Perkins—————————-
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PRE-GAME– Good evening folks. I'm at RFK and it's a beautiful summer day. Haiti is leading Grenada early and is basically toying with them (now if only they could stop shooting from 35 yards out).
Washington Post writer Paul Tenorio says that recent AC Milan signing Oguchi Onyewu will be in the building tonight to support his U.S. teammates. I will let you know if I see him.
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CT, I’m with you.
I can’t figure out how anyone thinks Beckerman had even a decent game. He is very slow, will not use his left foot (an unredeemable weakness for a central player), is very poor in the air, gets lost positionally, cannot beat anyone on the dribble, and doesn’t ball hawk like a guy in his position needs to. In short — he’s a decent MLS player and a very poor international one.
This game turned when Davies and Feilhaber entered because they are both head and shoulders above everyone else who played — Davies will start and Feilhaber will be a super-sub come 2010. these other guys . . . Dolo will be there, and Ching will be watching from the bench. Pearce will make it too. Rodgers needs to work on his delivery — he beats guys with a speed move (which won’t work against good teams) but his crosses are much worse than those of dolo and spector.
Its a good thing we have Torres and Feilhaber on the bench in 2010 for creative depth, because Adu won’t be ready and there is no one else on this roster (not counting Confed call-ins) who can do it other than Holden, who Bradley won’t give a legit shot.
the last 20 minutes redeemed an otherwise marginal display. Feilhaber looked terrific, I hope he can stay healthy and get consistent PT this season. I really liked Quaranta a lot tonight. He struck some nice balls from the right flank and his goal was well taken. He also did some nice work defensively I thought, which is important for the wide players in this system. Cherundolo looked good all things considered. I wasn’t enamored with Pearce at all. Rogers showed a lot of potential though he seemed to tire near the end.
It looked like Marshall had a much better game than Parkhurst, though I am not really sure what we have in either guy. Davies is playing with a lot of confidence right now, and is forcing the issue in terms of being an automatic selection for the games that matter as 2010 draws near. Ching isn’t one of my favorites, but it is hard to argue with his contributions.
Like for many of you, Adu was the big disappointment tonight. Don’t want to be too hard on him since he hasn’t played much competitive soccer this year. Still, it is hard to imagine that Adu in his current form will be on the 2010 WC team if the US manages to qualify.
I’ll probably skip the game against Haiti, though I am curious if Cooper will get more minutes as the tourney goes on.
Max Bretos with the legendary call!!
Posted by: slymer | July 08, 2009 at 10:42 PM
No!
What happened to “Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
This guy has turned soft
Beckerman and Davies were best players on the field
In my opinion this should be our starting lineup for the rest of the tournament, save for Haiti:
———————-Davies—————–
Rogers——————Adu———-Quaranta
—————Beckerman—Feilhaber———
Pearce—–Marshall—–Parkhurst—–Cherundolo
We’re getting serious width on this one while still playing with two of the best central midfielder we have. This is the only formation I feel we can use that will work to Adu’s strengths. Rogers, Quaranta and Davies use their pace to stretch the defense every which way and Adu uses the space to create. If this formation doesn’t work we’ll either have to bench Adu to start or find some other place he can play. The worst-case scenario being he doesn’t play at all, but I really doubt that.
Compared to the Confed Cup, this match sucked. The players from both sides tonight have a loooong way to go before they are ready to even be considered for World Cup play.
The ONLY bright spot, Feilhaber looks like he might be the real deal. He stepped in and immediately started to influence control of the midfield. This is one position that is ABSOLUTELY critical for the US.
I’m still pissed at Bradley for making me watch the 15 minutes or so of misguided, helter-skelter, back-and-forth, turnover infested box-to-box play with no shots on goal at the beginning of the second half before deciding to grab control by bringing on Benny. Damn him, my eyeballs hurt.
I enjoyed the refereeing tonight. Nice to see a ref in control and at the same time letting the players play. This guy is my favorite ref (as of today), although I do think for some reason he did have it in for Pause.
“Benny really did look like the player Adu dreams of being for our national team… hope he’s taking some mental notes on Benny’s game!!”
benny got back to form; from just one month of Club play…This is what Freddy needs………..i think we are getting over the top on Adu now on the negative side. The fact was the this game was his only poor game in a US jersey and its quite impressive that it took this long considering also how young he was 18-20. What does that tell you about Adu, if all his other games in a US jersey he was either our best player or one of the the better players in our games with well you know the South Africa game, the 3 Super-friendlies, Guatemala, etc. Right now what we are seeing is a kid who is rusty, lacks confidence, out of shape, and needs club games……….if he gets it all fixed this 09/10 club season with massive minutes and maintains his in-form play that he was doing at benfica and in the Super-friendlies he will be back in the Starting XI Discussions quickly.
How many of you Ching-haters have ever seen him play in person? If not, then you really don’t have the slightest idea what you are talking about. No tv coverage of soccer games I’ve ever seen show the beating he takes on balls in the air, or the distance he covers tracking back to help defensively or to move the ball forward. I’ve been a Dynamo season ticket holder since Day 1 and have seen 98% of the games (home and away) they’ve played either in person, on TV, or on dvr. I dare say I’m more of a Brian Ching expert than any of you. His work rate, soccer IQ, experience and leadership will be invaluable in SA in 2010 and, barring injury, he will be on that team and will get substantial playing time even if he doesn’t start. You haters can vent all you want, but it won’t mean a thing.
Ching is not Christiano Ronaldo, Francisco Torres, or Thierry Henry. But he is well suited for the current US team. He is strong, courageous, hard working and athletic. He is a good teammate and a good leader. He has good chemistry with LD and CD and still improving his game.
He had a hand in both goals tonight and had a hand in all three goals in his last Nat game against T&T. He’s not a flopper; his opponents know he’s the pivot man and they continuously mug him to reduce his effectiveness. Remember how many times Brian McBride got head lacerations or other head injuries? Ching’s the same way.
I know this won’t be good enough for many of you, but give Ching a break – he deserves it. Plus chances are good that by fall he will have his third MLS championship ring.
So far, solid starters for semis after two games:
Rogers,Beckerman,Benny,Holden,Davies, Marshall, Perkins, Cherundolo.
Lets wait and see against Haiti for the other three.
Subs were good, but should been made at half time, at least the first two, and I bet the scored would have been 3-0 or even 4-o.
Benny really did look like the player Adu dreams of being for our national team… hope he’s taking some mental notes on Benny’s game!!
Well said bg… I’m not a Freddy Adu lover/hater… I’ve just always wanted him to succeed because he wears the crest. The creative, attacking flair he does have is useless when a) he gets tossed around like a 65 lb high schooler b) can’t dribble like he wants because of rust c) while quick, lacks the top-end speed (like a Charlie Davies) to succeed on the international level.
So to recap, NO CLUB PT + NO STRENGTH + NO WORLD CLASS SPEED = CANNOT CUT IT AT THIS LEVEL
I’m happy to see guys like Benny, Charlie, Stuart, Robbie, Parkhurst, and Kenny C. continue to develop well so we get the much needed depth we’ve desired heading into WC 2010.
I’m sorry to all the Adu super-fans that have been defending his shitty performance tonight, but with the guys i just mentioned playing with the likes of Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore, we’ll have all the attacking flair we need for the the WC… Adu WILL NOT BE MISSED!! GO USA!!
Is it too early…I think not.
WC2010 USMNT Lineup
—–Ching——-Altidore——
Donovan—————Dempsey
——-Bradley——Edu——-
Boca–Gooch–DeMerit–Dolo
With these subs ~60 min:
Davies Ching
Benny Bradley/Edu
then Spector/HeyDude/Clark depending on need.
We have good prospects next summer.
Adu lacks the size, strength, and speed to play at this level. These are deficiencies further exaggerated by the U.S. style of play. Lacking one or two of these attributes, a player as skilled as Freddy might still show promise, but a possession oriented, offensive minded player devoid of any of these qualities playing in a counter-attacking system dependent upon physicality and athleticism is doomed.
There were three players on the field tonight who should play some minutes at WC 2010 Cherundulo, Ching and Feilhaber. The rest are desperate subs who should not see the field and most do no belong on the roster (i.e. Pause, Parkhurst, Beckerman, Marshall, Adu,) Two players should be instantly in the field for 2014, they are Holden and Rogers but neither will be ready for this Cup.
Does anyone know the story with Danny Sztella? (sp?)Is it hurt or off the radar?
Face painted red, white & blue, free; US beating Honduras 2-0, awesome; Tino scoring, freakin’ awesome; seeing an ignorant NYRB fan getting taken out of the SE section in a full nelson by the DCPD, priceless. Man, that guy was an idiot (hello? you have a 2 win team w/ a -15 goal differential on the season)
I feel great for Tino, it’s wonderful to see him have his life & game back on track.
Also, terrific to see Troy Perkins back in DC. No he wasn’t challenged much but he handled what came his way well. And of course, he’s one of us. (if you’re a DCU fan)
A bit disappointed in Adu. I hoped to see more progress in his game.
After watching the A-teams play in Chicago for entry into the final round of the WC a few weeks ago, I have to say we represented ourselves much, much better – both on the field & in the stands.
On a final note, I continue to be impressed by what Charlie Davies brings to the team.
My Player Ratings (5 average)
Perkins 5-not much to do.
Cherundalo 5-Slower than I thought.
Marshall 6.5-Solid, could he head the ball to a teammate once in a while.
Parkhust 4.5-OK, but looked easy to beat.
Pearce 6-Hate him with the A team, but looked good.
Pause 3.5-Did he play?
Beckerman 6-great workrate, lacking speed.
Rogers 7-Best player for the first half, fast!
Quaranta 7-Played hard, good spacing, professional finish.
Ching 6-great workrate, goal, not great touch though.
Adu 2-Really awful, few positives, many negatives, never made anything happen, slow!
Feilhaber 7.5-A higher class than anyone else on the field, rating would have been higher with more PT.
Davies 7-Fast & dangerous, see Feilhaber above.
Cooper 6-Good at getting off shots, made me want to see more.
NOTE: I’m somewhat of an Adu fan. I think he has the potential to be a good set piece guy. He generally has good touch. However, he is very slow and has been since his days at RSL. He cannot take on guys 1 v. 1, because they always catch up. Time to stop calling him up until he shows something.
The Pearce Rogers pairing on the left has been the revelation of this Gold Cup so far. Something very very useful and needed for World Cup.
I liked the energy from Beckerman and Pearce tonight.
100% agree with you JPC.
——————–Davies——————-
Rogers—————-Adu————-Quaranta
————–Beckerman—Feilhaber———-
Pearce—–Parkhurst—–Marshall—–Cherundolo
next game I would like to see Adu again, but w/ Feilhaber and Beckerman rather than Beckerman and Pause…
I think taking him out was a good idea tonight. The kid is not only rusty, but he’s not confident at all, you don’t see him running around demanding the ball like he does when he’s really on, and like Feilhaber was tonight. There needs to be more possession for him to play his game and be confident, and Feilhaber will provide that.
Heath Pearce has no right foot. I feel bad for him b/c he looked great a year ago, and now he looks like an average MLS player
Davies and Feilhaber were head and shoulders better than everyone in the stadium tonight. That’s what a little confidence in ones abilities, and experience playing against the worlds best can do for a players game. Not to mention they are both very talented, but neither was playing at this level two months ago
Wes, I understand that Cooper was “dangerous” with about 2 chances, three if you count the time he tried to flick the ball past the keeper on Feilhaber’s pass. It’s just that Cooper doesn’t bring the other elements to the game that Ching does. For example, Ching lays off a simple, but effective pass to Feilhaber in the build-up to the goal. It’s not like Ching wasn’t ever dangerous during the match either. Most of the opportunities were pretty tough to take. The idea is that Cooper is a one dimensional player. Besides, even if Cooper did do better than Ching, isn’t Ching just off an injury? This is his first match for the national team since then so lets let the guy get back into the groove. I do think Cooper should get a more extended look against Haiti.
YYYYYYYYYYYYYEAAAAAHHHH!!!! I am at the OBX in North Carolina!!! Went to get drunk at the Tiki Bar, saw a few US fans there!
Not happy with our play though.
“I swear why dont people understand that Weight-lifting will make you slower and less quick.”
Actually it depends on what kind of lifting you are doing. If you are just doing heavy weights/low reps and standard lifting activities, yeah, you’ll get stronger and bulkier and it will probably slow you somewhat. But you can do weight training more aimed at explosive power (such as Olympic movements), and workout programs plus lifting that use such techniques can actually enhance your quickness and jumping ability, especially your ability to put on a burst of explosive speed, something that’s quite handy on the pitch.
Nice win. Feilhaber was so much better than everyone else on the field it wasn’t even funny.
Oh, and maybe someone can tell me because I haven’t seen anyone else ask, but was Gooch in the house?
One thing i noticed..Freddy Adu quickness over the last month has depleted…………i dont know if that is still heavy legs form not playing Club ball or That Weight-lifting Adu is doing that he says he loves to do now. I swear why dont people understand that Weight-lifting will make you slower and less quick. people need to stop telling Adu he needs to bulk up more…….hes actually pretty ripped and bulking up more will make him less quciker and slower. And Adu get playing time with your club NOW.
calling those subs doesn’t take a genius anyone of us could call that sub
Bretos is an absolut clown.
kevin- that is an argentinian accent but its all good. is gooch in the house?
Beckermann looked sloppy on the ball. Playing above the level of this tournament would be unwarranted.
Poppsie is an idiot, and soon to be removed, I imagine.
On tonight’s game: Benny sure looks great the last few weeks. Though Marshall, Pearce, Cherundulo, Rogers, Quaranta and Davies were also above average. Ching, Adu and Beckerman were average, at best, and Pause and Parkhurst were below average. Perkins wasn’t tested enough to know.
On the announcers: Christopher Sullivan is the best American color announcer, period. Max Bretos I can live without. Sullivan is unbeatable, though. He called for Benny-for-Pause from before half-time and it was the substitution that won the game for the U.S. He also clearly articulates what is working, and what is missing for both teams.
I agree with you, other kevin. Tonight was not FSC’s shining moment in the booth. Sullivan and Bretos were not on the same page, and even when they were, the comments were unnecessary and stupid. I usually don’t mind them, because they are enthusiastic and Sullivan has a great understanding of the game, but he did not express it tonight.
By the way, why does he pronounce names so strangely? For instance, it’s “Cherundolu” rather than “Cherdundolo” and “Eschelotto” rather than “Schelotto” in MLS. Would he pronounce Sanchez “Esanchez”? Is this just some Argentine thing and I’m the ignorant one? Or is he really just and idiot (which is my suspicion).
I’m a big Adu fan, but tonight he was not good. No two ways about it.
Feilhaber looked great, and Rogers continued to impress. I’ll take the 2-0 win.
FF