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USA vs. Honduras: Match Night Commentary

U.S. Crest Honduras Crest

The U.S. men's national team will kick off the new year tonight looking for a win against a familiar foe in Honduras at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California (9pm ET, FSC and Telefutura).

While tonight's match won't have most of the U.S. team regulars, there are potential World Cup spots up for grabs, so it should be interesting to see how the fringe players fare in one of their last opportunities to impress head coach Bob Bradley.

As always, we will be providing commentarythroughout the match so please feel free to follow along here, and as always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

FINAL- That's all from me tonight. Please feel free to share your thoughts on tonight's match in the comments section below, and look for coverage of the game on SBI tomorrow. Good night folks. 

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FINAL- Despite the disappointing start to the year, the Americans have a chance to bounce back in the February 24 friendly vs. El Salvador in Tampa, Florida. It will be interesting to see just which of these players return/start. 

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FINAL- The U.S. team's attack was much improved once the myriad of subs came in, but by then it was too late. Who didn't look good tonight? Conrad, Kljestan, Marshall and Wynne.

Some of the top U.S. players tonight? Jonathan Bornstein looked good, as did Davis, Bedoya, Findley and Goodson.

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FINAL- Honduras 3, USA 1. The U.S. team's slow start ultimately cost it its first loss to Honduras in the the last five meetings. Jimmy Conrad's questionabe second yellow card in the 17th minute paved the way for Honduras, but Los Catrachos threatened the U.S. backline all night, especially down the Americans' right flank.

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94th minute- A smooth first touch from Pearce helps create some nice build-up play for the U.S., and Casey gets a good look, but he hits his shot wide.

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91st minute- Even though he has spent much of the night playing at center back, Bornstein has played well.

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89th minute- McCarty's corner find Bedoya, who heads it just behind the far post.

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89th minute- Davis hits a potent free kick, but Escober hits it clear for a U.S. corner.

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88th minute- Findley picks up a foul just in front of the 18. Dangerous free kick here.

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87th minute- Perkins keeps the score respectable with a great 1-v-1 save. U.S. caught pushing too far up.

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83rd minute- 18,626 in attendance at the Home Depot Center tonight. What percentage of that would you say was Honduras supporters?

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81st minute- Honduras earns its third corner kick of the night, but nothing comes of it.

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79th minute- Good cross from Bedoya gets punched away by Escobar.

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78th minute- Georgie Welcome is being subbed in for Pavon, who started the fun for Honduras tonight with his goal from the penalty spot.

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77th minute- Feilhaber blasts a shot from distance wide, and that will be his last touch of the game. McCarty coming in for Feilhaber, who was wearing the captain armband for the first time in his national team career.

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75th minute- Some new found life from the U.S. team. They are getting forward much better.

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71st minute- Goodson follows up his second international goal by taunting the Honduras supporters behind goal. Escober is hurting after the collision with Goodson on that goal. A foul could have been called there, but the goal stands and the U.S. has gained some momentum.

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70th minute- GOAL USA! Clarence Goodson climbs up and heads a corner kick from Davis into the back of the net! 3-1.

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68th minute- Walter Martinez in for Carlos Garcia for Los Catrachos.

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64th minute- Wynne with a Stree-FIghter like challenge. No card given. That call's a bit surprising.

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62nd minute- Honduras makes a switch as well. Ramon Nunez for Jerry Palacios, author of today's second goal.

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59th minute- A quartet of U.S. players being subbed in. Pearce comes in for Marshall, Casey in for Beckerman, Bedoya in for Kljestan and Davis comes in for Robbie Rogers. Bedoya earns his first cap.

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57th minute- Kljestan makes a nice pass to Rogers, whose first touch let him down. Still, Rogers looking much better now than in the first half.

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54th minute-  Wynne is getting up the touchline well, and his crosses have been decent. His defending? Not so much.

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52nd minute- Espinoza's finish was too easy. Marshall and Bornstein left him onside.

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52nd minute- GOAL HONDURAS!!! 3-0! Roger Espinoza stabs a dagger into the heart of the U.S. by taking advantage of a deep backline, and slotting home a shot from close range.

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51st minute- Rogers clipped from behind by Guevara, who is awarded a yellow card for his troubles. Kljestan takes the free kick from distance, but skies his shot over.

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50th minute- WOW! Rogers unleashes a potent right-footed shot that smacks off the right post! So close.

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48th minute- Some nifty passing from Honduras gets them a shot on goal, but it is a routine save for Perkins.

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46th minute- Second half begins, and the U.S. has made a change. Clarence Goodson comes in, and out goes Jeff Cunningham. Not the best of days for Cunningham, but he was starved of service. Rogers back to left mid, and Findley up top by his lonesome.

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HALFTIME- So what can Bob Bradley do to erase this two-goal deficit? Inserting Alejandro Bedoya wouldn't surprise me. I could also see Casey or McCarty stepping onto the field for Cunningham and Kljestan.

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HALFTIME- Credit to Honduras, though. Los Catrachos have pressed well, and have pretty much stifled the U.S. attack.

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HALFTIME- Archundia blows the whistle to end a relatively miserable first 45 minutes for the U.S. team. Definitely not the first half to the new year that most were hoping for. 2-0, Honduras.

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45th minute- Feilhaber looking sharper now. Touch and passes look better.

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44th minute- Guevara with a foul on Feilhaber. That should have been a yellow.

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42nd minute- And as I say that, Kljestan makes a nice move around a defender.

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40th minute- Not much from Kljestan today. With six subs available tonight, maybe Bradley replaces him at half-time.

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37th minute- Espinoza lays a ball out to the left, and Pavon has all day before picking out Jerry Palacios with a pinpoint cross. Palacios with a nice diving header to double the lead. Looked to me like Marshall got caught ball-watching there.

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37th minute- GOAL HONDURAS!! 2-0! Jerry Palacios with the finish!

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36th minute- A shot from Palacios goes just wide! Honduras almost made it two.

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33rd minute– Feilhaber sends a good ball to switch the point of the attack and Wynne makes a run down the flank before hitting a wayward cross. Not the dream end result, but much better build-up there.

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32nd minute- Findley and Cunningham have been starved for service so far, and Rogers has not look too sharp. Have to give Rogers some leeway since he is playing basically two positions.

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28th minute- Honduras is pressing well. And they force a Feilhaber turnover deep in the U.S.'s half, which almost results in a second goal.

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25th minute- Perkins sends a free kick out of bounds. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

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24th minute- Honduras asking for a penalty kick after a shot in the box hits Wynne on the arm. Archundia says no and it is the right call. Wynne's arm was stuck to his body with no intention of handling it.

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23rd minute- Bornstein makes a nice slide tackle to prevent a shot.

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22nd minute- Bornstein is now playing center back and Rogers has turned into a left wing back. Rogers shouldn't feel too unfamiliar with that spot. He played there in the final Olympic group stage match against Nigeria in 2008 when Michael Orozco was awarded a red card.

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21st minute- The U.S. gets a corner and Marshall gives the U.S. its first good chance of the day with a header that goes just a bit high. Close, though.

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19th minute- GOAL!!! Honduras is up 1-0 as Pavon beats Perkins from the spot. The U.S. is trailing with a man down.

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17th minute- Conrad given a second yellow for a foul off the ball, and he is sent to the showers early. Not sure about that one.

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17th minute- Some quick passing creates the first opportunity of the night, but now Archundia has awarded a penalty kick to Honduras! WOW.

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14th minute- Guevara with some nice vision to send in a long ball behind Wynne, but it bounces out of bounds. Honduras is taking advantage of the spaces behind the back four.

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11th minute- Wynne almost springs Findley with a long pass. Findley showed a good burst there.

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10th Minute- Good move by Bornstein to create some space for himself, but his cross is a bit weak.

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9th Minute- Jerry Palacios is given a yellow card for diving in the box. Each team with an early yellow.

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8th Minute- Honduras with some nice possession, and the team's supporters begin to shout "Ole!"

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6th Minute- Yellow card on Conrad for a foul on a would-be breakaway. Kind of harsh by referee Armando Archundia.

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4th Minute- U.S. earns its first corner kick of the game, and it gets cleared away.

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3rd Minute- Honduras looked poised to punish the U.S., but Perkins comes out and collects a dangerous-looking cross.

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2nd Minute- Marvell Wynne sends a long ball to no one. Wynne may have rushed himself there.

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1st Minute- And we're off. The fifth encounter between these two teams in the past year begins.

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PRE-GAME- Jimmy Conrad with the captain's armband tonight. Hard to argue that decision.

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PRE-GAME- It's Saturday, how about a drinking game? Drink for every time Christopher Sullivan makes up a word throughout the broadcast. Hope you guys have enough.

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PRE-GAME- Much has been said about Jonathan Bornstein's goal that saw Honduras qualify for the World Cup. Wonder if the Honduran attack will be kind and just attack down the U.S. team's right flank. Kidding…

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PRE-GAME- How the U.S. defense can cope with Amado Guevara's attacking prowess could be a major key to tonight's game.

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PRE-GAME- FSC talking about Kljestan right now and how he impressed in last year's January friendly vs. Sweden, where he scored a hat-trick in the 3-2 win. It can be argued that that game was probably his last impressive match in a U.S. jersey.

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PRE-GAME- Here is Honduras' line-up: Escobar, Norales, Pavon, Palacios, Martinez, Espinoza, Turcios, Guevara, Palacios, Izaguerre, Sabillon.

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PRE-GAME- Still waiting for Honduras' starting XI.

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PRE-GAME- The forward pairing of Cunningham and Findley will be interesting to watch, as will the performance by Sacha Kljestan, who is starting in his first international match since the Brazil blunder in the group stages of the Confederations Cup.

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PRE-GAME- No Omar Gonzalez on the bench may come as somewhat of a surprise to U.S. fans, but to be fair, he was not going to surpass Goodson on the centerback depth chart before this World Cup. Gonzalez is one to look out for next cycle.

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PRE-GAME- U.S. team's subs: Rimando, Goodson, Pearce, McCarty, Bedoya, Casey, Davis.

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PRE-GAME- Here is the U.S. team's starting XI:

————————Perkins———————–

–Wynne——–Conrad——Marshall—–Bornstein–

-Kljestan——-Feilhaber—Beckerman——Rogers-

—————Cunningham——-Findley—————

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PRE-GAME- It's Franco Panizo and I will be providing tonight's commentary and observations. Still awaiting the U.S. team's starting XI.

Comments

  1. Casey doesn’t do well at the National Level maybe club level, Feilhaber poor performance and lost the ball too many times… Whatever happened to all the new guys Bradley called up. I think Bedoya did a regular job when he entered as a sub……My thoughts…

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  2. If Ireland could have beaten the French, they would have done so…They didn’t. It’s unfortunate what happened, but you can’t say that the ref lost them that game. They weren’t going to win that game.

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  3. Fischy, I agree with you fully. Unfortunately, that’s still a damning comment on the state of US soccer. With the injuries (life altering in Davies’ case) the starters are currently trying to overcome, this “supposedly” supporting cast only gives me reason to further question what the national team scouts and coaches are trying to do.

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  4. His problem is not that he cant cross…his issue is that he doesn’t know when to attack…when to hold back…when to enter into a combination. Its all about that soccer “instinct” you can’t teach that, either you have it or you don’t.

    Only Jesus Christ can save Wynne…

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  5. This game was about seeing who might be able to be useful in SA. Except for forwards and injuries to others, the starters and a couple subs are set. This was supposed to be about who could score some goals. Unfortunately, Honduras had other plans and Conrad let us down. BTW, I first noticed Conrad in the 2005 Gold Cup, he played very intelligently, simply and made very few errors. He deserved the spot on the 2006 WC roster that he got. He did well in the 2009 Gold Cup until he was injured (concussion against Honduras) and out for the remainder. His strength is usually his intelligent play (but not last night) and his weakness is his lack of speed. Bradley likes soccer intelligence, so …
    The questions about who will play. It is the same problem the US had in 2006, except for McBride, it was hard to see where goals would come from. Dempsey might be moved up, he has played there for Fulham, but another player with speed or the ability to hold the ball needs to join him (I can see Dempsey pairing with a big strong guy, better than with a player who wants to simply burn by defenders.)
    The game in Holland will be a chance for Bradley to find a pair of strikers. Maybe Cooper with Dempsey will be the answer, but both are injured now and adequate recovery is always a question mark.
    lt probably not be settled until the final camp leading up to S.A.

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  6. Well, outside of Bornstein, the only way any of these guys play in South Africa is if the starters ahead of them can’t play (Gooch, Davies, Dempsey, etc.). So, I’m not too worried that Beckerman and Wynne looked like Shi’ite.

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  7. Warned him? That’s what the first yellow was for. It’s a foul in the box. Not sure why you think the referee should ignore a blatant foul in the box.

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  8. The US has the kind of team where, unless you are CR9 or Messi, it’s hard to just come out of nowhere and excel.

    I’m very curious who you mean by the “players outside the obvious ones”.

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  9. Wynne isn’t ready for South Africa but if you compare this performance to his previous US appearances, there is clear and encouraging improvement.

    His flaws are tactical awareness, a poor first touch, and poor crossing. All are deadly flaws but all are fixable if he wants to work his butt off and finds the right coaches to help him. His speed,strength, athleticism and fighting spirit are great and even now he’s sort of like, if you’ll pardon the expression, Hejduk on steriods.

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  10. The only reason Conrad can hope this does not mean the end of his US career is that Marshall showed he has all the tools but his grasp on the mental aspects of defense is non-existent. Shirt pulling will definitely be called in this World Cup (it was a big deal in the last one), esp. if the guy goes down. This is a good wake up call for the USMNT, friendly or not you can’t do that and not expect a PK and a card.

    Since most of these guys had little US experience and had never played a real game together before I wasn’t expecting much and when the red card happen I lowered my expectations even more but overall, it was a very interesting match in terms of these new guys.

    Wynne was very interesting because while his crossing and defensive sensibilities were bad, those can be fixed. You can’t coach the speed, strength and athleticism he seems to have. His flaws are fixable and if/when they are he would/will be a real beast.

    Beckerman exactly what to do but lacks the ability to do it. Rogers needs more of a structure to display his skills. Goodson has moved ahead of Marshall and Bedoya made more of an impact than I had expected him to.

    Reply
  11. Watch tapes of the last two world cups.

    For at least the last two World Cups, pulling on a shirt and clearly impeding an attacking player in the penalty area will always be called, if seen.

    Refs were instructed to be very particular about that. It’s disappoonting that a vet like Conrad didn’t appear to know that but better now than in the World Cup.

    Reply
  12. Although Bradley will not be replaced, he still is open for criticism/and improvement. He did poorly, not as poorly as his Gold Cup final but very near that level. He had his central defense of Marshall and Conrad playing a very high line. Along with Beckerman those three are not quick enough to play that high. He also needed to send a forward off immediately after Conrad’s ejection. He’s only evaluating players and he doesn’t need to be on top of things? Then don’t sell tickets or put on the uniform.

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  13. Pathetic performance last night. Not sure what else there is to say. Good thing none of these players will be in the starting XI in June.

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  14. I was dissapointed with Conrad. Marshall’s ball watching even after Bornstein warned him. Wished Cunningham xould have stayed in longer, and that Findley would have got more service. Rogers and Benny had some good flashes, as did Beckerman and Bornstein was solid. The result is irrelevant. Good game to Honduras they controlled the match and took their chances.I

    Reply
  15. Bob Bradley’s 23

    Howard (Guzan/Hahnemann)

    Spector (Cherundolo) Onyewu (DeMerit) Bocanegra (Goodson) Bornstein (Castillo)

    Holden (Beasley) Bradley (Jones OR Edu) Clark (Torres) Donovan (Feilhaber)

    Dempsey (Cunningham OR Findley) Altidore (Casey OR Ching)

    Reply
  16. I can see why most thought Wynn had a bad game. I disagree. When he joined the attack, we would lose possession-that’s not his fault. When we lost possession the defence needed to slide to his side to slow down the counter attack In addition, the right midfielder is suppose to protect that side on the counter attack.

    Reply
  17. Wow, 18,000 fans, why don’t they hold a game like somewhere where people will attend?

    Portland could get that many fans and I don’t think their capacity is even that high.

    So now they go to Tampa, where it is colder than Seattle and 1/100th the number of fans.

    For those of you that do attend, no offense to you.

    Reply
  18. I agree that his technical skill isn’t there yet, but Onyewu has little to no skill on the ball. He’s just an absolute beast who wins everything in the air. If Gooch isn’t WC ready, I would listen to the Omar argument. I probably wouldn’t be convinced but I would listen. A Demerit Boca tandem would be more likely though with Marshall behind them. Gonzo is a player to watch though (but for 2014)

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  19. After last night, the potential group to take to South Africa would include:

    Altidore Ching
    (Cooper) (Casey)

    Dempsey Clark Bradley Donovan
    (Edu) (J.Jones) (Feilhaber) (Holden)

    Bornstein DeMerit Oneywu Spector
    (Parkhurst) (Bocanegra) (Cherundolo) (Goodson)

    Howard
    (Guzan)

    A 23rd guy is a hard pick right now. We’re thin in the D due to injury, but also thin up top. Guys to keep on the radar:

    Castillo (D)
    Orozco (D)
    Torres (M)
    Califf (D)
    Findlay(F)
    Cunningham (F)

    Guys who aren’t ready for prime time:

    Chad Marshall; you blew it twice last night my friend
    Jimmy Conrad; poor, poor composure and decision making from a supposedly experienced player

    A guy who I think should get a call-up is Mike Grella. He was a 1st team All-American in 2008 at Duke, and currently plays for Leeds United. He has played for both the US U-20 and U-18 teams. He has 5 goals this season, but unfortunately is playing behind the red hot Jermaine Beckford right now, so maybe isn’t getting as much PT as he could.

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  20. Archundia is a joke. I’m still fuming that one of three opportunities to truly assess these fringe players was squandered by his poor decisions. There were, however, some bright spots. Bornstein was excellent (I can’t believe I’m saying that); I actually thought Sacha was quite good at the end of the 1st and in second half; Beckerman absolutely should be on the WC roster — tremendous workrate, dedication and intelligent distribution; Goodson also should be on WC roster if only for his aerial presence, biggest problem for him is lack of pace; Bedoya looks one for the future. Downsides: no real opportunity to assess attacking options; Wynne is awful and should never, ever be capped again; his distribution is shockingly terrible; Rogers once again was underwhelming; he’s got all of the tools, but I’m continually disappointed by him.

    I’m pondering putting up my player ratings. Ives — you should post player ratings.

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  21. 1. Anyone and everyone who says that the game doesn’t matter is FULL OF IT! It does matter, and we should slaughter these teams regardless of what team it is(our 1st, 2nd, 3rd). It just shows how WEAK and PATHETIC we are BECAUSE OF THE COACH! I blame BB for everything.

    2. Why waste your time on player who blow donkey balls like sasha.. he did nothing but to truly show us he doesn’t belong. Feilhaber is not the man we need in the middle of the park, We have better options…one being torres yet even when he is available he doesn’t get called in…hmm.. Conrad is old, crusty lets give gonzalez a shot or even oroszo..hey you want a red card call orozco! Bornstein is playing better, but Wynne…don’t get me started on him…please.Roger, casey don’t desirve another look along with cunningham! Bedoya is not bad, but bottom line is that the players are at fault but the one person to blame;the one person who makes the line ups is BB.

    OFF WITH BB HEAD!!!!!!!!!!

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  22. Oh, I’m not trying to put a positive spin on anything. I know we played poorly. I’m just pointing out that the U.S. was hardly putting its best product on the field from a skill perspective. I do agree though, we should have been able to muster a better effort. I felt like before the red, we were dominating possession and putting good pressure up top. However, once we went down a man, midfield service suffered, and Cunningham and Findlay disappeared as a result.

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  23. well i agree, but Steve Cherundolo is a good overlapper and goes down the field…..his touch and experience is much better than Wynnes at the moment so Wynne isnt going to be the starter this WC if Bradley is looking more towards Wingbacks than Rights backs this year

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