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USA vs. ENGLAND (MATCH DAY COMMENTARY)

Us-soccer-fed1       England_crest

The U.S. men's national team kicks off its World Cup today against England (2:30pm, ABC) in one of the most anticipated matches in recent World Cup history.

England enters as the favorites in Group C and will be favored today, but the United States enters with plenty of confidence after enjoying such a strong showing in last summer's Confederations Cup.

The Americans will need to slow down a dangerous England attack led by star striker Wayne Rooney, and the battle will begin in central midfield, where the United States will need to contain the tandem of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.

Offensively, the United States will need Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey to be at their most dangerous, while Jozy Altidore must have a stellar match.

I will be providing commentary from now until the end of the match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Commentary and lineups after the jump):

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FINAL– That's all for me. Thanks for following along, and please be sure to check SBI and Fox Soccer for your post-match coverage of the USA's 1-1 tie vs. England.

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FINAL– As the place clears out of England fans, we see the USA fans out in force. They were here, and in the end they enjoy a great result for the U.S. national team.

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FINAL– Tim Howard is named Man of the Match, a well-earned honor. He's the rock who gives the team confidence every match.

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FINAL– Yes, that's the score I saw this match ending at beforehand, but I couldn't have imagined the USA shaking off an early punch to come back and score the well-earned draw. 

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FINAL– USA 1, England 1. I brave and strong performance from the americans, who shook off a very bad start, and with some help from Robert Green, the USA earned a precious point.

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94th Minute– Final seconds..

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94th Minute– USA fans chanting, England fans frozen.

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94th Minute– Final minute.

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93rd Minute– Herculez Gomez is ready to come in.

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92nd Minute– USA ready for another sub.

Onyewu beats Crouch to a ball in the area.

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91st Minute– Four minutes of added time.

Donovan's corner is cleared away. USA keeps possession.

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90th Minute– Good build-up from the Americans, led by Donovan. USA corner.

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90th Minute– Donovan tries one from distance, but its well high, Green can't botch it.

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89th Minute– Is England conceding a draw? Kind of looks that way.

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88th Minute– How about Onyewu racing out for a clutch tackle? Man of the Match?

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87th Minute– Three minutes left, plus added time. Still 1-1.

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87th Minute– Bradley fouls Rooney in midfield and a frustrated Rooney asks for a card on Bradley. No dice.

Holden coming in for Altidore.

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86th Minute– USA chant ringing out now.

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85th Minute– England on the break again, but Onyewu does enough to slow it down and England can't put it together.

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84th Minute– Here comes Holden.

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83rd Minute– Hold up on that Holden sub. Isn't happening just yet.

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82nd Minute– USA isn't settling for a tie with these subs. Bob Bradley is looking for the late winner.

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81st Minute– Holden ready to come in, look for Altidore to come out and Dempsey to move up top.

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80th Minute– USA 1, England 1. Ten minutes to go.

Peter Crouch comes in for Heskey. Crouch is tall AND dangerous.

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79th Minute– Onyewu clears away a dangerous ball, giving England a corner.

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78th Minute– Buddle is coming in for Findley.

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77th Minute– Edson Buddle is set to come in.

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76th Minute– SAVE HOWARD!! Stops a Wright-Phillips shot from close range. Need better than that to beat Howard.

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76th Minute– Rooney JUST wide. WOW, what a shot.

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75th Minute– Findley with a studs-up challenge on Gerrard, draws a yellow. Could have been a red.

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74th Minute– Clean challenge on Findley, who just didn't have that final gear to break behind the defense.

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73rd Minute– Green has looked shaky since the spill. The Americans need to get some shots on him.

England fans singing "God Save the Queen" trying to spur on their team.

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72nd Minute– Rooney is all alone in the area, but the cross is too high for him to handle.

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70th Minute– Some desperate defending from the USA as England attacks in the final third.

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69th Minute– Lampard skies the free kick into the stands. Not a good day for the Chelsea midfielder.

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68th Minute– Heskey draws a foul on Onyewu, free kick from distance, straight on goal, for England.

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66th Minute– USA is really going at England now, and Altidore has found the game. He's looking dangerous.

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66th Minute– Altidpore with a SHOT OFF THE BAR, saved by Green. Great turn and run by Altidore to earn that.

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65th Minute– The cortner finds Johnson on the back-post, but he rushes his shot wide.

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64th Minute– England corner. Lampard beats Bradley and forces a punch save from Howard.

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63rd Minute– Onyewu wins a header and you could hear chants of "GOooch" in the stadium. Onyewu looks good tonight folks. That was key for a USA result.

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63rd Minute– Bocanegra heads Donovan's hard free kick well wide.

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62nd Minute– Dempsey draws a dangerous free kick after being cleated by Gerrard, who draws a yellow.

This free kick is Donovan territory. Dangerous on the left flank.

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60th Minute– Onyewu caught in a footrace situation with Rooney and does the job. Definitely passed an important test there.

Carragher fouls Findley, drawing a yellow for the studs up challenge, could have been a red.

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59th Minute– Subbing out Findley for someone like Jose Torres or Maurice Edu would be a good move right now.

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58th Minute– USA doing well to relieve pressure with long balls to the strikers. The defense needs to be more careful not getting caught forward.

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56th Minute– England looking a bit nervous right now. Pressure will build on them the longer it stays tied.

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55th Minute– Rooney is starting to get frisky, he'll surely be more active this half.

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54th Minute– SAVE HOWARD!!! Stops Heskey after Onyewu gets caught forward. Lennon sprang Heskey on a breakaway, but Howard is up to the task.

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52nd Minute– Rooney called offside, though Bocanegra made a great goal-line clearance anyway.

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50th Minute– Dangerous cross in from England, but it is a second too late to find an open Rooney.

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48th Minute– Jay DeMerit with a yellow card.

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46th Minute– And we're back.

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HALFTIME– King played well, but his bad knees probably got the best of him.

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HALFTIME– Jamie Carragher is coming in for Ledley King. That's two subs used for England already. 

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HALFTIME– So what now? The Americans can keep the same squad, though subbing in a forward early in the second half would make sense if Altidore and Findley continue to struggle. I still think Altidore can offer something here.

Cherundolo must be careful with Wright-Phillips and realize that all the Manchester City winger is going to try to do is turn the corner on him. He can't cross with his left so he's basically one-dimensional on the left. It's a pretty fast dimension though. 

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HALFTIME– Some thoughts at the half:

Oguchi Onyewu has done well tonight. He's challenged in the air well and been up to the task when challenged.

Michael Bradley is doing well to keep Frank Lampard under wraps. Ricardo Clark had a shocker on Gerrard's goal, but eventually settled down and played a solid final 25 minutes.

Robbie Findley and Jozy Altidore haven't done much with possession when they've gotten it. Findley's speed threat hasn't really been a factor. You wonder if and when Edson Buddle comes in.

Landon Donovan has served up some good free kicks and corners. He should become more of a factor in open play come the second half. 

Aside from some flashes, Wayne Rooney hasn't really been much of a factor. He isn't likely to stay quiet for an entire game so the Americans will need to beware as he tries to impose himself on this match.

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HALFTIME– USA 1, England 1. An early goal from England is countered by a shocking blunder by Nick Green on a Clint Dempsey shot. We're in for a GREAT second half.

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48th Minute– Final seconds now.

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47th Minute– USA pressing in the final third.

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45th Minute– 3 minutes of added time.

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45th Minute– Onyewu kicks out a Lennon cross for a corner.

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44th Minute– A blunder like that can ruin your whole game, so it'll be interesting to see how Green handles future shots at him.

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43rd Minute– Heskey is down after being kicked in the face inadvertently by Jay DeMerit.

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42nd Minute– Chants of U-S-A are ringing out in the stadium. The tide has turned.

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41st Minute– SAVE HOWARD!! Stops a Johnson shot.

Wow, what a blunder by Green, who should have handled Dempsey's shot with relative ease. To his credit, Dempsey hit a hard shot and created the situation to score his second World Cup goal. Wow.

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41st Minute– GOAL USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it's Clint Dempsey, who's shot forces an AWFUL SPILL from Robert Gree. WOW. USA 1, England 1.

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40th Minute– Cherundolo gets a yellow. He's got to be careful with SWP now.

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39th Minute– Donovan goes JUST WIDE with a shot. Good look from him.

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38th Minute– Cherundolo has to know that Wright-Phillips is no threat to cross with his left. He needs to defend against the run and the cut-back.

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36th Minute– Findley with a promising run that ends 20 yards from goal. He's really been no factor so far.

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35th Minute– England corner. Wright-Phillips speed is already presenting problems.

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34th Minute– Howard is in pain. He will try to gut it out.

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33rd Minute– Altidore has a go from distance, easy for Green to collect. At least it's a shot from the kid, who hasn't been involved much.

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32nd Minute– You all can wipe the vomit off your keyboards now.

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32nd Minute– Howard stays on. He's lucky, Heskey could have broken his arm on that challenge.

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31st Minute-  Marcus Hahnemann is warming up.

And Fabio Capello has seen enough, he takes out Milner and inserts Shaun Wright-Phillips.

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30th Minute– Heskey came in with his cleats and kicked Howard in the left arm. It looked serious.

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29th Minute– Tim Howard is hurt. Whoa.

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28th Minute– Englandcorner earned by Lennon.

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27th Minute– ONYEWU GOES CLOSE, sending a header wide of goal, great ball in from Donovan.

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26th Minute– Milner takes down Cherundolo a second time and gets the yellow card for his trouble. USA with a free kick from long range, on the right flank.

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25th Minute– Nice attempt at a combination play between Bradley and Altidore, but Altidore's quick pass to Findley is blocked.

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23rd Minute– England is dealing with the U.S. team's possession pretty easily. The Americans need to be crisper with their passing.

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21st Minute– For all the stick Heskey is given, he's been very effective tonight.

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20th Minute– Great stop by Cherundolo to halt an England break. He saved a sure goal by blocking a dangerous centering pass.

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19th Minute– ALTIDORE SO CLOSE. Donovan with a beautiful pass, but Altidore can't put it on net from close.

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17th Minute– Dempsey has had some good touches and passes, but nothing dangerous yet really. Donovan has yet to really get involved.

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16th Minute– Gerrard with a nice tackle and he's putting in serious work. Best player on the field right now.

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15th Minute– Corner taken short but the square pass from Cherundolo can't find anybody.

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14th Minute– USA has its second corner headed away by england. Another corner.

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13th Minute– USA corner.

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11th Minute– Dempsey header is saved easily by Green. Good service, but the Americans need to attack from closer.

Fabio Capello is going nuts on the England sideline. You would think England was down 1-0.

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10th Minute– Clark misses a header on an England corner and nearly sets up a Johnson shot in the area.

Tim Howard is pissed, and he should be.

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9th Minute– Heskey backs into DeMerit and earns a foul call when DeMerit jumps for a header. Heskey is cagey with the physical play.

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7th Minute– Milner hacks down Cherundolo. Could have seen a yellow there.

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7th Minute– How will the Americans respond?

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5th Minute– Clark loses Gerrard on a run into the area as Heskey delivers a great pass to spring him. Terrible from Clark there.

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4th Minute– GOAL ENGLAND!!! And it's Gerrard with the finish!! England 1, USA 0

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3rd Minute– Clark and Bradley are sticking tight to Lampard and Gerrard early. Looks like Clark is staying close to Gerrard.

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2nd Minute– Dempsey is on the left tonight, with Donovan on the right.

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1st Minute– And we're off.

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PRE-GAME– Americans look confident and eager to get this match going.

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PRE-GAME– The anthems were just played and we are ready for the action.

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PRE-GAME– The first U-S-A chant breaks out, but is drowned out by the music as the teams come out.

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PRE-GAME– Serious faces in the tunnel, with the only handshake I see being between goalkeepers Tim Howard and Robert Green.

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PRE-GAME– I'm pumped for this match. Can't remember being this excited for a match since USA-Mexico in the 2002 World Cup. Just a great night for soccer and for the lovers of the sport.

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PRE-GAME– Sounds like the most concern among American fans is the decision to start Clark. I don't think I need to remind people that it was Clark in central midfield in the win vs. Spain. He also played well enough to become a starter late in the year for Eintracht Frankfurt. He can play, the question is how well will he play tonight.

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PRE-GAME– The teams are about to come on the field.

If you are following along with the commentary, please let me know and let me know where you are following from.

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PRE-GAME– Some Bob Marley is playing in the stadium now. Setting a nice and mellow mood in the place.

I have to say that it's a party atmosphere, doesn't feel hostile at all. Great environment.

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PRE-GAME– Had the following conversation with an English reporter:

BRIT- I've seen Jozy Altidore play and if he's one of America's best strikers then you're talking about a serious gap in quality compared to the United States.

ME- Yeah, but England is starting Emile Heskey.

BRIT- Fair Point. So much for that.

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PRE-GAME– Just saw Muchael Bradley giving words of encouragement to Jozy Altidore, clearly trying to pump him up. Altidore looks relaxed, almost sleepy. Not really looking too affected by the incredible pressure of this high-profile match.

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PRE-GAME– As far as the lineup goes, I don't see too much of a problem with it, though Clark's form in recent matches hasn't been stellar. That said, we don't know how he and the other central midfielders have looked in training and with defending in central midfield such a priority you can see why Bradley would want to start Clark.

Second half subs that make sense include Edson Buddle for Altidore, Jose Torres for Ricardo Clark (if the USA is losing) and Stuart Holden in for Robbie Findley.

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PRE-GAME– How about Robbie Findley? He goes from the surprise player to make the team, to a starter vs. England. He will be called on to put pressure on England's defenders and provide an outlet for pressure.

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PRE-GAME– England fans are seriously outnumbering Americans today, the England starters were announced and you heard loud cheers for all. The Americans will feel like the road team today, it's something they're used to.

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PRE-GAME– I'm inside the stadium and it's like a mini-Wembley Stadium, with England flags circling the stadium. Not sure how many England fans are here, but they sure brought a ton of flags.

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PRE-GAME– Oguchi Onyewu is in the lineup and he is key to the U.S. team's chances today. If he can play well, the U.S. defense has a chance to hold off an England attack that will come in waves, both with Lampard and Gerrard centrally, and the speedy Lennon and Milner on the flanks.

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PRE-GAME– Fabio Capello goes with Emile Heskey over Peter Crouch, much to the chagrin of England fans. Robert Green gets the call in goal, while James Milner shakes off an illness to start.

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PRE-GAME– Bob Bradley goes with the speedy Robbie Findley up top to try and put pressure on England's back-line. Ricardo Clark gets the nod in central midfield, where he must try to contain the combination of Lampard and Gerrard. With the help of Bradley of course.

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PRE-GAME– Here is the USA lineup

—————Altidore——–Findley—————-

Dempsey————————————–Donovan

—————–Bradley——Clark——————–

Bocanegra—-Onyewu—-DeMerit——Cherundolo

———————–Howard————————–

Here is the England lineup:

————-Rooney———–Heskey————–

Milner——-Gerrard———-Lampard—-Lennon

Cole———-Terry————-King——–Johnson

————————-Green————————

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Comments

  1. We got a tie because of a once in a blue moon gift of a goal. Otherwise he messed up the lineup and we were shutout. You’re a moron. YOU shut up!

    Reply
  2. We won because of Howard not Coach Bradley. If Green doesn’t screw the pooch on that ball you wouldn’t be so happy.

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  3. I love BB for his ability as a tactician and a man manager. I think he lets the game get away from him at times instead of taking control with timely substitutions, though. Overall, I think he does a nice job as manager, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t criticize him for some things that I feel are lacking.

    Reply
  4. Good heavens… the complaining here is so dumb the team got an excellent result, and people are complaining about Bradley, tactics, and everything else. I guess some people enjoy sports in large part for the opportunity to gripe that they present. Dumbos…

    I thought lil’ Bradley was an absolute beast in the middle. Calm on the ball, strong in the tackle, and made a couple of slick passes (a couple of bad ones too, but hey, he’s not Xavi). If he keeps this up maybe L.pool will start calling.

    Altidore seriously needs to work on his aerial game.

    Gooch started shaky but ended the match very strong. He made some powerful and gutsy tackles there at the end.

    I’m not in love with Clark, but overall he played pretty darn well. England was absolutely woeful in the middle. All their work came from long balls and down the wings. Bradley and Clark were disrupting all over the place. (Lampard and Gerrard once again being so much less than the sum of the parts.)

    Buddle and Gomez have to play some. Findley is what he is. A sprinter with pretty weak foot skills.

    Bob Bradley is a freaking genius! You people…the results the US has had over the past two years. We have a Special One on our bench.

    Reply
  5. Did you not read the part about fitness? They’re more fit, they can go longer, therefore Bradley can bring on subs like Feilhaber, Holden, Gomez, etc later and they’ll be THAT much more effective because the other team is THAT much more tired.

    Reply
  6. LOL, I have noticed that too. Usually American posters are pretty educated because casual fans wouldn’t bother to post, but I guess the WC brought out a larger fan base today. It actually makes me happy. Good day for football today. I’m off to cheer my Aztex at House Park tonight against the Whitecaps.

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  7. Interesting the choices BB made. In the end they worked out for a 1-1 game which is a better result than mosat thought the USA would get. Rooney didn’t score, Gerrard made a nice play of a throw-in that was scuffed to (I think Heskey) who made a decent pass. A bit of ball watching by the US was punished. After that, the keepers proved to be the difference. Crouch appeared unused to being challenged by someone almost as tall as he is and never was much of a factor. Heskey clearly got frustrated and Cappela should have removed him much sooner. Rooney kept his temper, but lost enough of his cool to lack a finishing touch. Altidore muscled his way past Carragher and nearly scored when the keeper could only redirect his shot onto the post.

    The four US midfielders defended more than I would like and were a bit too quick to try a long ball forward rather than hold possession.

    If the US can defend a bit better in the next 2 games and if the forwards can find the net, the US will advance.

    Slovenia will be a tough nut to crack. It might be a boring game of 2 teams laying back and trying to counter.

    Reply
  8. One of the only posts I have read today written with reason and good analysis besides blind passionate ranting. I agree with most of what you said.

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  9. SeIously. You guys are crazy. A tie against England in a tigHt game and yet we are still hitching about Bradley. Shut up … for once, please.

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  10. Note that I wrote “most experienced AND in form player.” I meant the combination of the two. He earned his spot in Germany, and he’s been more consistent defensively over the past few months than either Torres (one match does not a defender make) or Edu (out for most of the past year with the national team).

    The friendlies were iffy, but I don’t honestly take those into much consideration. Remember that Clark’s game is based on physicality, which is not something you SHOULD see to much of in a friendly right before the World Cup. Much the same could be said about the defensive “breakthrough” by Torres, which again occurred in the dubious “friendly” setting.

    Personally I think Edu can do Clark’s job better than Clark, but not necessarily right now. Torres is a bit trickier, because in this formation there isn’t a natural spot for the guy, but he’s definitely got a bright future as a link between the back and the front.

    Reply
  11. bingo…too many head in the clowds goobers here, a point was brilliant going into the day and we still threatened on the break, why shake things up early??

    Reply
  12. Yeah, that was about the only thing that didn’t go wrong with Bob’s poor decisions. However, Gooch did not have a great game, he just wasn’t bad, and thankfully England didn’t try to exploit him. Demerit was easily the best defender. I know everyone loves Gooch, but this was Demerit’s day on defense.

    Reply
  13. thank you for recognizing this…..

    “tha N#### ya love ta hate” Ice Cube

    great quote for Rico. no matter what he always gets mouth from US fans.

    From a tactical standpoint that goal wasnt Rico’s fault. It just looked like it because it seemed like he lost his mark. He hesitated because he thought gooch was back in cover on defense and he wasnt which then left Rico sprinting and sliding to try and catch Gerrard….good performance from Gooch, but not completely mentaly there yet, he pressed on his marks to high and it let Gerrard slot in his position for the goal and let Heskey free for the Howard save. By the way, Demerit and Cherundolo will definately have interest around Europe if they keep it up….

    Reply
  14. Can someone who thinks Michael Bradley is good explain to me why he never marks anyone or tackles or double teams. And I’m being serious; I watched the past few games and was at the Turkey game and he looks likes one of the worst players on the field to me consistently . No excuse for Torres not to be playing. Neither Clark nor Bradley are a better choices.

    Reply
  15. lol @ the lack of positivity. I suppose that’s because most fans are at viewing parties etc. leaving a louder voice for the usual trolls and haters.

    Anyway, GREAT result. After going down 1-0 so early, we shouldn’t be anything short of giddy to get out of here with a 1-1 draw. We played very well overall, shut them down for the most part, and the way we kept it together and stayed tough is laudable. Satisfying performance, made even sweeter by the heads exploding across the pond!

    I know they’ll make a hoot about the soft goal, but at the end of the day it MATTERED, which means it was a very tight game. In other words, the Yanks hung tough with the EPL all-stars that many thought would blow us out of building. Good good stuff.

    Reply
  16. Given that there’s so much documented, actual match fixing in FIFA (not rumors; people actually being convicted and going to jail), one can’t help but wonder how much the England goalkeeper got paid to let that one in? Still, discounting the score, a great match between two countries that should play each other more often.

    Reply
  17. I disagree with your point about Clark. You can’t point to having more possession vs England than vs Spain as an improvement… England and Spain are two completely different teams. Also yea Clark is more experienced but you cant possibly say hes in better form than Edu or Torres(Basing this on the friendlies i have watched)

    Reply
  18. “I love Torres or Edu as much as the next guy, but Clark was the most experienced and in form player available for that spot in THIS match.”

    Experienced, yes. In form? Heck no. Have you watched any of the last several games? Torres was way more on the tip than Redcardo.

    Reply
  19. Also, the bad thing about games on ABC…no replay. I got home in the 77th minute and wanted to watch the previous 76.

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  20. Actually I like Clark. He needs more games. Maybe the lineup for the next game should be:

    Howard
    Cherundolo DeMerit Onyewu Bocanegra
    Clark Bradley Torres
    Donovan Dempsey
    Altidore

    Reply
  21. Hey, how about a shout for no Bornstein!?

    Hell of a game by the USA. Still not impressed with Findley and would have rather have seen Gomez instead of Buddle… Gomez has shown a knack for hitting the back of the net as a sub!

    Great all around effort but this wasn’t the game I was worried about. We always show well for big teams in the WC. It’s the Poland’s, Ghana’s and South Korea’s I’m worried about. I have a feeling Algeria or Slovakia can take one from us.

    Reply
  22. I will take Bob Bradley as coach over anybody that posts on this page. We were lucky but the composure and confidence after giving up the first goal was a tribute to coaching and the will of the players.

    Reply

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