The U.S. Men's national team takes on Australia today in its final pre-World Cup tune-up match.
The Americans are coming off a 2-1 win against Turkey in Philadelphia last week, and should get a tough test from the Aussies a week before their World Cup opener vs. England.
Some surprises in the lineup for the United States today as Robbie Findley and Edson Buddle get the starts, with Jozy Altidore out with the ankle injury suffered during the week. Defender Oguchi Onyewu is a surprising omission, with Clarence Goodson getting the nod alongside Jay DeMerit.
I will be providing commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):
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FINAL– That's all for now. Please feel free to share your post-match thoughts on today's USA victory in the comments section below.
Thanks for for following along this morning.
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FINAL– USA 3, Australia 1. Buddle with two and Gomez with the insurance goal. Solid stuff, though some shaky moments defensively.
Overall a good performance for the Americans and a good confidence builder for next week's World Cup opener against England.
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95th minute– How about Gomez, scoring in both of his appearances during this pre-World Cup run, and both times as a sub.
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94th minute– Clark comes off with what looks like a hamstring injury in his left leg.
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93rd minute- GOAL USA!! And it's Herculez Gomez, finishes off well as he converts a Donovan pass from ten yards out. USA 3, Australia 1.
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92nd minute– Michael Bradley has had a solid game today, keeping the ball moving and covering tons of ground. Still don't think Clark should be his central midfield partner.
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91st minute– FINDLEY WIDE!!! He breaks in on goal, looks good in the run-up, but his shot is well wide.
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90th minute– Can't be much stoppage time.
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89th minute– This referee has been annoying all match, not impressed with him at all.
Australia with a free kick that is blocked.
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88th minute– DeMerit with some good defending. Maybe it's just me, but DeMerit plays better with Onyewu around him.
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86th minute– Beasley took a knock and is trying to walk it off. These last five minutes will be nervy as both teams look to avoid injuries.
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86th minute– Gomez took a shot to the face but is up and running.
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84th minute– Gomez gets in behind the defense, but tries to center a pass and scuffs it.
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82nd minute– And just like that, Herculez Gomez is in for Dempsey.
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82nd minute– Dempsey and Donovan are still on the field, not sure why.
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80th minute– Findley looked to be fouled, but got no call.
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79th minute– Look for Dempsey to move up top now that Beasley is in.
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78th minute– You wonder why we haven't seen more subs from the USA. Now we'll see DaMarcus Beasley come in for Buddle.
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76th minute– Grella with a yellow card for a hard challenge on Dempsey, who has been getting beaten up all day.
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74th minute– Clumsy challenge from Australia's Wilshire on Dempsey.
SAVE HAHNEMANN! Nice stop, but DeMerit with a turnover upfield.
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73rd minute– USA not showing much now, a bit too content to sit on a one-goal lead.
Will we really not see Torres or Edu today?
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71st minute– Hahnemann is absolutely lost on balls into the area via high balls. He should put a hat on.
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68th minute– Bornstein's ill-advised cross-field pass is picked off and leads to an Australia break. The USA defends deals well with the pressure.
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67th minute– Hahnemann wiffs on an Aussie corner kick. Not a good look for him there.
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63rd minute– Onyewu is in the match now, having replaced Goodson.
Save Hahnemann, stops a close range shot.
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60th minute– A bit of a snooze-fest lately.
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55th minute– Bornstein is on for Bocanegra.
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54th minute– Jonathan Bornstein is preparing to come on.
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52nd minute– USA with some chances, but Schwarzer makes a key save and the offside flag goes up.
Actually, Robbie Findley hit the frame with his shot. He can't buy a break today. Buddle did well to lay the pass off to Findley, but he sends it off the crossbar.
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48th minute– Cherundolo gets beaten on the wing, but Kennedy can't finish off the cross.
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46th minute– We're back.
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HALFTIME– Marcus Hahnemann is in for Tim Howard to start the second half. Fair to say he will be the No. 2 fort the World Cup.
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HALFTIME– Some thoughts:
Edson Buddle looks like a good pick to start vs. England at this point. Stuart Holden and DaMarcus Beasley had been considered the candidates, and still could start, but the way Buddle is playing makes it tough to consider not starting him. What a finish on his first goal.
DeMerit doesn't look nearly as comfortable playing alongside Goodson as he did alongside Onyewu.
Ricardo Clark has been invisible.
Findley hasn't done much to earn more minutes today. He did put the pressure on Grella to help Buddle set up his first goal, but not much else.
Cherundolo has put a hammer lock on the starting right back spot.
Carlos Bocanegra looks very good at left back.
Donovan's set pieces
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HALFTIME– USA 2, Australia 1. Some good finishing, and some promising passing sequences, but the defense hasn't exactly been rock-solid. Considering how much more dangerous England is than Australia, it wasn't a comforting 45 minutes for Bob Bradley. Oguchi Onyewu needs to be back on the field.
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45th minute– Donovan finally hits a good long free kick but the USA can't get it on goal.
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44th minute– Isn't there a "U.S. national Team for Dummies" book that Martin Tyler can thumb through? The guy's great to listen to, but it's pretty clear he hasn't been primed at all on the national team (The fact that he asked John Harkes to talk about Bob Bradley gave that one away).
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40th minute– If you are wondering, no, Australia's coach was not in Reservoir Dogs.
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38th minute– Craig Moore and Dempsey get yellow cards for their handbags.
And yes, John Harkes destroys the age-old saying "Mess with the bull and you get the horns." Flat George W. Bush'd it.
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36th minute– Dempsey was NOT happy with that challenge and started having words with Australian players.
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35th minute– SAVE HOWARD! Stops a tough Cullina challenge.
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34th minute– Australia comes close as Josh Kennedy's header goes wide. He beat DeMerit there but the USA got lucky that Kennedy sent it wide.
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32nd minute– It's safe to say Cherundolo isn't about to give up the starting right back spot. What a beautiful ball, and Buddle heads it down to give Schwarzer no chance.
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31st minute- GOAL USA!!!!! And it's Buddle with his second of the day off a GREAT cross in from Cherundolo, who sets him up with an easy header. USA 2, Australia 1.
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29th minute– Findley has looked off today. Not nearly as sharp as he looked against Turkey.
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28th minute– Bradley to Buddle to Donovan to Dempsey was the sequence on Dempsey's great chance. Quality passing there.
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27th minute– SAVE SCHWARZER! Stops Dempsey after a great passing sequence from the USA. Thought I jinxed Schwarzer there.
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26th minute– With Cahill having scored on Everton teammate Tim Howard, are we destined to see Dempsey score on Fulham teammate Mark Schwarzer?
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25th minute– Another terrible show of corner kick defending by the USA is saved by a clearance. Are the Americans really this lost on corner kick defending assignments? England's players must be loving seeing that.
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24th minute– This referee is calling any contact. DeMerit has been a bit rough, but some of these are soft.
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21st minute– Another look at the Aussie goal seems to suggest that Cahill slipped in behind DeMerit and Dempsey, though I'm not sure why Dempsey would mark Australia's most dangerous player on a corner kick.
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19th minute- GOAL AUSTRALIA! And it's Tim Cahill with the finish, racing onto a corner kick with a back-post run and volley finish. Looks like Dempsey lost him. Australia 1, USA 1.
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18th minute– I'm not saying I wish bad things on the creator of the vuvuzela, but if I wouldn't cry for him/her if something bad happened.
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17th minute– David Beckham is in the house. Beckham looks pretty bored.
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16th minute– Australia has been sloppy at times today. Not the most promising performance from the Socceroos so far, not that USA fans mind.
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15th minute- FINDLEY MISSES!! Wow, what a miss, he beats the off-side trap, rounds Mark Schwarzer, but sends it wide.
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8th minute– It will be interesting to see how the tandem of Jay DeMerit and Clarence Goodson do today, since at this point it is looking like the centerback pairing that will face England.
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6th minute– A dream start for the Americans, and for Buddle, who is pushing for a starting spot at this point.
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4th minute- GOAL USA!! And it was Edson Buddle with the finish off a turnover by Australia's Grella. USA 1, Australia 0.
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1st Minute– And we're off
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PRE-GAME– Here is the U.S. national team's lineup today:
———–Buddle————Findley—————–
Donovan———————————–Dempsey
—————–Bradley——-Clark—————–
Bocanegra——Goodson—-DeMerit——Cherundolo
————————–Howard—————————–
Bornstein looked like one of our best defenders today. Scary!
The two favorites to start alongside Bradley not taking the field? Bradley didn’t what to tip his hand to Capello.
Once the match got past the 75′ with not central mid subs, that’s what I was thinking. Bradley’s going to play Edu or Torres and wanted to get Clark at least one appearance in South Africa.
You didn’t even watch the whole game dude… The pitch was horrible
Yeah. First year that we look like we’ll do better scoring goals than defending them.
What Harkes meant to say: “You mess with Wynalda’s wife, you get tossed off the team.”
I was thinking that, too, because both Torres and Edu should be playing ahead of Clark. I like Edu against England better.
haha. That’s classic.
My hoped for starting lineup against England:
Altidore Findley
Dempsey Bradley Edu Donovan
Bocanegra Demerit Goodson Cherundolo
Howard
this comments gone beat them both…..you like men
I didnt
Crazy idea: Maybe BB put Rico out there as a decoy. Maybe JFT is the no-doubt starter on the 12th and BB is trying to show Capello X when in fact we’ll be bringing Y. And perhaps this sleight of hand will influence the way England prepares and/or chooses it’s starting 11.
We looked pretty good at times. But they didn’t.
I kinda suprised about this result were we really that good or was australia that bad?
I dont care how bad the pitch was, you have to make that pass at this level…it wasnt that hard. The fact that he took that much turf with the ball is concerning considering it should have been a simple pass.
Findley was rubbish. I’m still learning and posting prematurely.
4-0
I hate to say it but I don’t think Gooch is starting against England. He looks like he is playing on 1 1/2 legs, which will be ugly in a full speed World Cup match.
Will Bradley sit out the injured Altidore for the red hot Buddle, I think yes. Will he sit out the lackadaisical Dempsey? I don’t think so. For those not familiar with Robbie Findley, yes he misses just as bad in the MLS. He may need contacts. Don’t know what the stadium is like for England game, but Howard better practice with a sun visor. I can’t see Clark starting, why did he get all the minutes?
Bob Bradley keeps running the same experiment and expects to get a different result. If this is the starting line-up for the England match, excepting Onyewu for Goodson and Altidore for Findley, we have no chance for a victory. Clarke was a complete non-factor in this match and Bradley, as happens so often lately when paired with Clarke, struggled to find the game. Australia had acres of space in midfield and ample time on the ball. This was the case for the entire match, but especially in the second half. Steve Gerrard will watch the tape of this game and salivate at the chance to play against Clarke and Bradley. England will go Route One all day and tear our team to shreds.
When we did enjoy possession, all our chances came from the wings. Steve Cherundolo played a massive game, causing problems for the Austrlian left side all match. We got nothing from our central midfield pairing-no possession, no entry passes, only one shot, they were simply missing in action. If the USA are to have any chance against the English, we must control midfield, both when we have the ball and when we do not. The only player who has shown any ability in holding the ball is Jose Torres, In my opinion, he must start if we are to win. Goal difference is always critical in determining who advances out of the group in World Cup play. We cannot afford a bad loss to England. If the side that started today also starts next Saturday, a final score of England 3, USA 1 will be fortunate for us and our World Cup may end with that game.
i think the first teams has gotten lots of time to play, we just don’t see it is all
BUDDLE IS THE MAN…!!
The US NEEDS him to start…He is a finisher…he gets the goals, something that right now is escaping Findley, although he is doing his job in stretching the field and making runs of the counter! This is why Bradley brought him in..Now if he can just SCORE. Herculez is the perfect scoring sub!! He is doing his job.
The midfield had some problems..too many lost balls, Clark need to be replaced with Torres for the UK game.
The backline made me nervous, to many through balls and flubbed clearances on corners and crosses. SBI was right Demerit play better with Gooch.
Cherundolo was great. He has won the starting right back spot, even though he was caught out several times over committing on defense.
Dempsey appeared to not find his footing and flubbed many passes and crosses as well as shots on goal. Could be the surface. He had been spoiled playing on the immaculate surface of the English Premier League.
Was fouled unmercifully.
Gooch for Goodson, Torres for Clark and Altidore for Findley, although without Findley, the US may not be able to stretch the field against England! A Buddle/Findley start without Altidore…may happen!
yeah, but Harkes keeps calling Findley and Buddle our young strikers, and he must know what he’s talking about right?
i think it’s to give him one more chsance honestly… it’s why bornstein got so much time as well. they start counting next week.
or not play. He has spent a lot time on he bench this year at RSL.
My starting Lineup against England June 12
GK: Howard
DEF: Cherundolo DeMerit Onyewu Bocanegra
MID: Donovan Bradley Torres Dempsey
FWR: Altidore Buddle
Subs: Holden Edu Gomez
USA wins 2-1!
Please let this happen
typical idiotic comment from Harkes. an utterly ridiculous statement
I think that’s what games like the one against Turkey are for. We should have played starters against the Ottomans and then subbed them out as the game against the Aussies wore on. Protect them from injury, etc.
I think everyone on both sides looked slow today. That may have been because the cameras were 5 miles away from the pitch and made the players look small despite the smaller pitch. That “stadium” was definitely not built with television viewing in mind. And also the pitch itself was awful and the players had to compensate greatly for it.
Beckham….intelligence. Does not compute.
“And why do they keep showing David Beckham and the assistant coach of England?”
Remember, this is ESPN, the ENTERTAINMENT and SPORTS PROGRAMMING NETWORK we’re talking about here. With one bold swing of the camera, the requisite Beckham shot completely fulfills the Entertainment requirements…
Nice win but it was about as unimpressive for the US as 3-1 wins get. Australia dominated possession for large stretches of the match (especially in the 2nd half) and the back line looked slow and unresponsive much of the time. Gooch is unfortunately still looking slow and wobbly and we can only hope against hope he’s in good enough shape to be effective next week. Hahnemann looked lost not only in the sun but rusty in directing his back line and is nowhere near the athlete Howard is (if Timmy goes down at any point we’re screwed). Also far too many cheap turnovers though the US looks a little quicker and crisper on their passing, especially on the counter. Obviously Findley is still having trouble with his confidence though he still showed that he can come in as a sub during the Cup with speed and agility. Don’t know why Torres didn’t see any time as he’s been the fastest rising star for the USMNT in a while. Hope he’s figuring prominently in the plans.
It was a nice win and in the end the US clearly demonstrated its class over a weaker opponent. However, I’d hardly be quaking in my boots if I was the England side based on today.
Tyler’s alright, but Harkes is awful. I forgot about Balboa — he was actually a pretty good commentator
I’d say it’s a toss-up between the comment from “Post” and the comment from “Austin”.
is it though? You tell me what other reason r. clark and m. bradley play side by side? They are both defensive midfielders. If you knew the game of soccer you would know that this is a no no unless you are trying to come away with a tie.
You both are so stupid you don’t understand that i was being rediculous on purpose to show how rediculous it is to start both these players side by side. Not to mention R. Clark is consistantly terrible every game.
It was pretty obvious that Gomez missed the cross to Findley because of the pitch, he pointed to it immediately afterwards. Martin Tyler also commented on that one play specifically how the field messed up his service.
Give him time to settle in. Forwards are streaky. Even the best don’t put em in every day, although yes, he did miss some sitters. he isn’t THE ANSWER to all our probs, but I like what he brings. The last couple games have shown our forward pool is very competetive with each other, I bet he bounces back.
Anyone else think that Germany is going to dismantle Australia?
ditto
haha, yes give me bobalou rather than goofygoo. R. Clark is worthless in the middle. At least Ricky Ricardo contributed something.
I mean Buddle is stronger, better finisher and puts himself in great positions.
It’s a bad mental mistake on the team at this point in the cycle, to have Dempsey be the one marking Cahill.
Well said Theodore. I’ve just gone through the almost 500 comments on this posting by, what I would consider, pretty knowledgable soccer fans. There seems to be unanamous agreement that Bradley should not start Clark or Bornstein. They do not add to the game; they detract from it. All these SBI fans can’t be wrong. As for Harkes, don’t expect much from him. He’s the George W. of soccer commentators.
Agreed.
I agree with you whole heartedly, but you have to be realistic. Any other coach who is worth anything would play the players that are in form and work well with each other. This means putting Clarks rear on the bench for good. He is not good enough to play at the international level and you will more than likely not play internationally at the club level much longer. He just doen’t understand the game and really keeps the team from playing at an even higher level. Not to mention… what team plays 2 defensive midfielders? I know B. Bradley doen’t think his son is an attacking mid? Or maybe he does. I have come to the conclusion that m. bradley and r. clark are in a relationship and that is why they both get the start game after game with little to no results.
What does torres have to do to get the start? I’m tired of US coaches! Give this US team what it deserves an international coach who knows the game and understands talent.
It’s not a bias. My eyes don’t lie. We were pretty good on offense when we were offensive minded, but we were not good on defense and bunkered for no reason in the 2nd half. If you like mediocre performances, then I am sure you were pleased. It is not too much to ask that we play well for once and not make ridiculous rationalizations for when we don’t.
He would be a lot more disruptive if he could put easy chances into the net.
Sorry, he is not for this level obvious RSL fan. There have been many players who have played for the USMNT and were “disruptive” but couldnt score (calling Josh Wolfe) but theres a reason they arent in Africa…….
….the same reason Findley shouldnt be
Seriously. Rediculous.
Stop it please – I’m getting vertigo.
Findley missed a few today. But no other striker in the pool gets into a few of those spots. I think you continue to go with him. He’s picking up the Intl pace as he goes.
Not sure about Clark, but Bob is trying to bring Bocanegra along slow since he’s coming back from his hernia surgery and since our left back pool sucks, we get Bornstein. I just hope Bocanegra can go 90 when it really counts.