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USA vs. Netherlands: Pre-Match Update

USMNTPractice (ISIphotos.com) 

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The last day before the U.S. national team's match vs. the Netherlands had some surprises, some good news and some promising signs for the Americans.

Before we get into tidbits from Tuesday, here is my preview piece on Wednesday's match for FoxSoccer.com.

U.S. head coach Bob Bradley spoke positively about Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu's recoveries from knee injuries. He stated that Dempsey should be back in action for Fulham soon while Onyewu's participation in training with the U.S. team in Amsterdam was the latest evidence that he is close to rejoining AC Milan.

The biggest surprise was the news that Jermaine Jones was with the team. Jones drove up from Germany to meet up with the team and spent Tuesday with the squad. He could be seen around the team hotel in his U.S. national team gear in what has to be seen as a sign that Bradley is keeping the door open for the Schalke 04 midfielder if he can get back on the field and back to his stellar pre-injury form. There is still no timetable on Jones' return from injury, but the fact that he made the trip out here would seem to suggest that he's serious about eventually suiting up for the United States, even if that might mean doing so after the World Cup.

I spoke to Carlos Bocanegra about his situation with Rennes, and as  you might expect, the veteran defender kept things in perspective when asked to discuss his somewhat unsettled position with the French club, a position that saw him lose his starting job, then get it back, then get pulled from a recent match at halftime.

"You get ups and downs with your career," Bocanegra said. "Luckily I’ve been able to be around the game for a while and you have to take it all in stride and look at the big picture.

"When you’re younger I think you get a lot more frustrated right at the beginning. You think the whole world is crumbling," Bocanegra said. "Obviously you want to be playing week in and week out, but when you look at the whole picture you just have to take it one game at a time."

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Landon Donovan deflected questions about his future with Everton and whether he would like to stay with the club. All signs point to him finishing out his loan and returning to MLS, even though a strike could still take place in MLS. His last match at Goodison Park is set for Sunday against Jozy Altidore and Hull City.

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Bob Bradley filled out his coaching staff on Tuesday with the official hiring of Lubos Kubik as the team's new assistant coach. Kubik joins Jesse Marsch as replacements for Peter Nowak and John Hackworth, who left the national team to join the Philadelphia Union.

The MLS Defender of the Year on Bradley's 1998 MLS Cup-winning Chicago Fire, Kubik is a veteran of Serie A, Ligue 1 and the German Bundesliga. He previously served as an assistant coach to Peter Nowak on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, the same team that features current national team players Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu and Stuart Holden.

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Steve Cherundolo spent two days with the team, but left on Tuesday evening to resume training with Hannover 96. He is still a good bet to make the 23-man World Cup squad if healthy.

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There were several members of the English media in attendance as they worked on their pre-World Cup coverage. Bradley might have given them some good tabloid fodder when he light-heartedly revealed that there were some EPL managers who were rooting for the United States against England. Bradley didn't name any names but he pointed out that they weren't English managers. Something tells me Gianfranco Zola and David Moyes will be answering some questions about that.

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That's all for now. Feel free to share your thoughts on these items as well as on Wednesday's friendly in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. Jones lived in Chicago and Mississippi when he was younger. Even if he is 75% he is still better than Edu, Clark, or Bradley……

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  2. Agree 100%….Josey cannot get open enough and all the mids will do is loft the ball in the area and we will lose it. If Josey could open the middle up so Donavon or Holden can make a thru run, it might work…but I haven’t seen that from him.

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  3. fyi, it’s loaded in the history of your browser … how does he not get scoops on the Nats game in Conn. if he’s the closest to a beat writer?!

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  4. So you have players who spent the past 2 years traveling all over the world to play in World Cup Qualifiers, friendlies, camps etc…

    Then a guy who just declares he wants to play for the USA shows up, never actually plays a game with the team and then gets inserted into the lineup.

    It would not be cool is all I am saying and is what happened with David Regis. Should he be able to play for the Yanks? Of course he should! I have no issues with where you come from essentially as that is why America is such a beautiful country.

    I just think it makes no sense to bring him in now – 6 months ago, yes. But now???

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  5. What does that have to do with whether he would “upset the balance of the team”? There are two separate issues: one has to do with whether a guy who is essentially culturally German should be able to play for the US because of his parentage — it’s a thorny question about what makes a “national team” “national.” (I think he should be, but get a bit uneasy about the countries that naturalize players with little to no connection to the country other than being a really good soccer player who played in the domestic league, e.g, Cacau.) The other has to do with bringing in a talented player very late in training who has never played with the team. (I think it depends on how talented he is.)

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  6. bah… he also said “blonde hair/blue eyed” in the article, which does bring up race.

    regardless, i still believe that if he felt like he wasnt getting called up to the german national team bc of what he looked like, and he said something about it, and got into further trouble then he shouldnt just sit there and let it happen. you need to say something.

    if germany doesnt want him, we’ll take him. Edu, Bradley, Klejstan, Feilhaber, Torres, Mastroeni (hehehe) etc are just gonna have to work harder to prove they deserve a starting spot over a healthy Jones. which also goes for Jones as well. he shouldnt just automatically assume that he deserves a starting spot, he needs to work hard and fight for it like everyone else

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  7. And the USA should play 11 native Americans? Defining the ‘true Americans’ to play would require a DAR membership and a some Jim Crow biological standards, or Thomas Rongen arrogance.

    But I do understand your point that nations shouldn’t field teams of hired guns from Brazil. I believe the defining point would be are the immigrants legit. Africans playing for France is much different than Africans playing for Japan.

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  8. Any body have a good idea of a web site that might carry the game today? I’m stuck in Canada and can’t watch on any of the ESPN sites. Or even a site where there may be play by play?

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  9. All im saying is i just dont think its right that he got black-balled for speaking whats on his mind. If he felt like he was being treated wrongly then he should say something and not just take it on the chin.

    It has nothing to do with race. He just said he felt like he was ousted bc he didnt act or look like a “typical german”. the ‘look part’ was bc of his tattoos NOT the color of his skin

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  10. As a college professor, I’m disgusted by all the class skipping. As a fan of the USMNT, I’ll be watching the game at a cafe near campus with a bunch of students who are probably cutting class… A little flexibility is always a good thing…

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  11. There were 21 passes before Robinho’s shot for the 2nd goal. 10 of them were back in their defensive half, but still was sweet.

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  12. If a player is added to the world cup roster, but is unfit to play at the time of the tournament, can his roster spot be replaced with another player? What are the rules on this?

    If they can be replaced, it would make sense for Bradley to put Davies and Jones on the roster and replace them if they are not healthy by the time of training camps in May.

    Ives, please chip in on this.

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  13. indeed. the worst part about it is I have to stay away from SBI and soccernet for 2 hours before I go home. with a job that allows for quite a bit of down time, like mine, its easier said than done.

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  14. Totally agree – see Jozy for Hull this year when he’s alone up top. Bad first touch, can’t win headers. He’s better with the ball played to his feet while running towards goal.

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  15. With the style that Bob Bradley likes to play (2 Defensive Central Midfielders) we’d see a MB & JJ pairing if Jones is healthy.

    While our depth at CM is probably the deepest of any of our positions…think of who we have there.

    Michael Bradley – 22 yrs old…40 Caps

    Ricardo Clark – 27 yrs old…27 Caps

    Benny Feilhaber – 25 yrs old…31 Caps

    Mo Edu – 24 yrs old…11 Caps

    Jose Torres – 22 yrs old…7 Caps

    Jermaine Jones – 28 yrs old…0 Caps.

    If Jones is healthy he’d likely displace either Edu (who’s only been back playing for a month after injury) or Torres who Bob hasn’t really given much opportunity to.

    We have a fairly young group of players, who have seen a number of injuries. Not to mention if one of the others were to be injured again I for one would be happy to have to potential to bring in a Jones, IF he’s back to full healthy.

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  16. Guys,

    Definitely should be fun.

    But to be realistic we are missing 1/3rd of USMNT Confed Cup 1st team (Davies, Dempsey, Dolo, Gooch).

    So oddsmakers are right to favor the world class team – which ain’t the US.

    I saw the 2002 US v Netherlands game; and the quality gulf was – let’s be kind – wide.

    This time, if we can put on a creditable show stringing more than 2 passes together without kickball in between, I will be happier about our chances in South Africa.

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  17. “…there were some EPL managers who were rooting for the United States against England.”

    That includes just about every non-English EPL manager with a player on England’s roster including SAF. They want their players to play less games so that they’re not exhausted for the start of next season – England getting knocked out during the group stages would be a dream scenario for many of them.

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  18. A bit sick of the Regis comparisons, Jones was born an american, Regis married into being an american…a little differance heh? Also, the balance of the team is marginal at best….JJ would be an awesome addition and I hope he’s on the nats come World Cup!

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  19. yes, but its just not the same! i mean if you can keep your ears shut and eyes closed from whatever you have to do until you get home i guess there really isn’t a difference.

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  20. Hey mike,

    I’m in australia too!!! How are you going to watch it?
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    I can’t find any streams right now.

    Help!!!!

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  21. Skepticism is warranted because Jones has been injured.

    But a healthy Jones would be a very significant upgrade.

    Healthy, Jones is much better than Michael Bradley — let alone Edu.

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  22. News to Hutskizzle: everyone DOES field their best Brazilian : ).

    Eduardo the Croatian, Senna the Spaniard, Deco the Portuguese, Benny the American….to name a few.

    Reply

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