By FRANCO PANIZO
Three days after settling for a 2-2 result versus Poland, the U.S. men's national team was held to scoreless draw against Colombia at PPL Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Head coach Bob Bradley deployed a 4-3-3 formation that looked more like a 4-1-4-1 to start the match, but it proved ineffective against a Colombian team that enjoyed much of the possession.
That changed after halftime as the Americans reverted to their usual 4-4-2 setup and made four substitutions to start the second half.
The change in formation allowed the United States to create chances, one of which was a header from Jozy Altidore that went straight to goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon in the 86th minute.
Two promising youngsters received their first caps in the match. FC Dallas winger Brek Shea started and played 45 minutes while Aston Villa defender Eric Lichaj played the second half after coming on for Jonathan Spector. Shea struggled to impose his will against the Colombians, but Lichaj performed well, even providing the service for Altidore's late header with a cross from the right flank.
Oguchi Onyewu started his second match since the World Cup and captained the Americans through the first 45 minutes before being replaced by Michael Parkhurst at halftime.
Jermaine Jones received his second cap for the United States. He started, went the distance and received a yellow card.
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What did you think of the match? Who impressed/disappointed you?
Share your thoughts below.
Yes, but goals must be scored. And I should be more specific.
With last night’s personnel in the first half, the 4-3-3 didn’t work. Sure, it clogged the middle and prevented Colombia from breaking on counters, but we did get a whiff of the goal, other than Gooch’s header that went wide.
I agree that our midfield is a strenth and stretching it out makes sense. Who knows how the 4-3-3 might have worked with LD and Clint on the outsides?
That said, we don’t have personnel with ability to control the ball (no matter who is on the field) and create plays (a true “10”). Without them, formations other than 4-4-2 are going to be limited in their effectiveness. Remember when we tried a lone striker up top at Azteca? Goals must be scored.
I liked this kid but i must say this. Is it me or does Jermaine Jones seem substantially more skilled, confident on the ball, competent in tight spaces and downright better then every other player on the USMNT minus CD and LD. Watching the game almost made me feel bad for him. You could tell he wanted the ball at many times and simply wasn’t given any service. So many players on the USMT are so predictable going forward all they can muster is a turn to the side line and pass back to a deep defender. You could see Jones was simply surprised at some of the god awful passing in mid field b/t bradley and edu and some of the service back to midfield from the forward positions. I like our team and our pool, but I could just see Jones showing all the time and not getting the ball. He clearly has a superior soccer iq compared to the other players. Im really excited he is on our team, i just hope others can match his play.
“None of MB’s completed passes were beyond 10 yards in traffic.”
That’s what they used to say about Claude Makalele.
Sorry JudgingAmy bu yesterday I also watched the Germany vs. Kazakstan game. Even though Germany looked dominant Kazakstan looked like a team that could thrash ours. We looked like crap out there. And I for one am very sick and tired of these ups and downs of our performances. We are the most inconsistant team around. We rearely lose or tie because of bad luck it’s usually because we are completely inconsistent even within a game.
I agree with Jones being much better than Bradley. I love Bradley and hope he learns and becomes that much better but from watching Rangers and Moenchengladbach it looks like Edu is improving much faster than Bradley.
Jozy better than Buddle??? not so much.
Now, I’m not saying that Bradley has been playing well…far from it, but perhaps the decisions about lineups/substitutions are based on more than if someone is playing well and “deserve” to be on the field. We know MB can play well (and probably will find his form again) so Bob might be trying out systems/personnel with an eye to the future. Remember, the goal of these friendlies is to experiment without the pressures of needing to win. Maybe Bob left MB in because he wanted to see more of the Jones/Bradley tandem, how they would work together in a 4-4-2. I just think there might be more considerations than just “Bradley has not been playing well, so he should be benched.” This seems too simplistic to me.
Shea love affair over already?
Jones looked solid….I’m really liking his game.
For people that say coaching does not make a difference. Just the difference between the two formations from the 1st half to the 2nd half caused a shift. But overall the problem is the same with Bradley as coach you won’t see anything special. And it is not about the players anymore because 3/4’s of the team play in strong leagues.
bottlcaps you’re an idiot. Stop calling it 2-4-4 and 1-5-4. Its 4-4-2 and 4-5-1. LMAO
Everyone is jealous of Jozy Altidore and Oguchi Onyewu. Lol.
This sorta. People want Jozy to be something he’s not. Partly expectations that are too high and partly a misunderstanding of the game in general.
Its what leads to the lunatic ravings any time the US has a bad game (and the fanatic praises and overrating that occurs when the Nat get a nice or flashy win). I think fans on SBI need to take a step back sometimes. Calm down a little bit.
Our team has rarely played a pretty game against good teams. Depending on the level of competition your players can look like scrubs or all-stars. We need to keep this in mind and not freak out over a friendly here or there.
Colombia (and CONMEBOL) in general are slept on heavily. They play in the toughest or second toughest qualifying region. Look at how well South America did in the WC.
That said, we played ugly. Most of the guys didn’t look good. Even JJ and Lichaj who are getting hyped to death (get outta here with this Lichaj needs to start business, ludicrous), looked very poor at times.
We’ll see if it gets better. This is a transition period, so our team in a year should look somewhat different and very different by 2014.
I think youre on point with the CM discussion. No one is saying that MB is a terrible player, so no one come and say we are all haters, but right now Jones is a better DM option, and Holden is a better AM option. And with depth out wide, unless we play 4-5-1 I just dont know where Bradley fits. In other midfield news, I still like playing Edu at CB until something better comes along (Gonzo, Ream, Parkhurst), but right now I kind of like the versatility and skill on the ball with Edu back there. If he can learn the position more who knows what he could provide back there.
I try to look for positives and the real positive out of this games is that the US can play good defense without Dolo, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Demerit. They can play decent defense even with Spector, Pearce, Lichaj, Parkhurst.& Goodman. Yes, the midfield looked disjointed, but that has to be expected considering the integration of new players. I was also heartened by another poor performance ny Altidore. How many more announcers and commentators have to point out to Bob Bradley that Altidore is not ready for prime time.
Good performances by Holden, and Jones ans better than average performance by Lichaj, Pearce and Goodson are a start.
I think several of the US players last nite have a good chance of competing with some of the MLS talent for subs and alternate spots.
I do believe that Bob Bradley has to teach his players how to play other lineups than a 2-4-4. He can start by teaching Altidore that when you play a 1-5-4, it is imperative that the lone striker stay up front or in the box. A 0-6-4 lineup is not conducive to scoring goals as last nite was a good example.
Agreed. We cant have MB, Jones, and Edu all try and play the same position (which they were trying to do in the first half). I think we need a true defensive mid option, and a true offensive mid option (who can give support to an ailing Jozy/EJ/everystrikerwehave). Jones has def. played better than Bradley at DM, it really shows when Jones is making perfect passes to start/create an attack from a defensive spot with playing balls up to Jozy, while most of Bradleys passes are lateral or negative. And at an attacking mid, why not Holden with the way he has been playing lately at Bolton. If we are to see a 4-4-2, id like a Donovan, Jones, Holden, Dempsey combo.
That’s correct. US Soccer, what can you do?
Who cares? None of MB’s completed passes were beyond 10 yards in traffic. Unlike Jones, who had 2/3 Brilliant Long balls in the second half.
The difference in class is evident.
Agree that bradley was a force in SA. But there’s been a pretty significant development since then.
If jermaine jones becomes our standout defensive center mid, than the relative value of both mb and edu will drop even if they continue to perform at their pre-jones levels.
Not in a big hurry to put those guys on the bench, but I definitely think it’s something bob will have to consider in light of the new arrival.
An awful lot of fire directed at individual players. I’ll reserve my ire for BB. Normally he drives me crazy by starting 2 defensive center mid-fielders (severely limiting the sides creativity and attacking potential), last night he one upped himself by finding a way to start 3. Our first shot at the goal, never mind on goal didn’t come until the 2nd half!! And I though Bruce Arena’s sides were boring!
On a side, but related note, what was up with Sunil Gulati’s talk about his “50 year plan”? Oh the possibilities if someone could’ve pulled the trigger on Klinsmann….
Yep. Maybe even switch Holden and Donovan.
After all the mess-ups in South AFrica and all the uncertainty about the future of the back line, I think the forgotten bright spot of the match was the play of the defense. I saw lots of nice tackles, takeaways, and composed passing (and not so much booming it upfield). I agree that the team didn’t seem to have a clear offensive approach all night, but I think (hope) that Bradley is laying the groundwork for a new lineup and/or formation and that it will look much better when Donovan, Dempsey, and Holden are on the field at the same time.
agree with those two, but what about Goodson. I thought he was really good too
Nice to see some criticism not of the “worst player ever/why does he even have a uniform” variety.
And some praise (of lee-high) not of the “clearly the best left back we have” variety.
So, ummmm, gold star for you then.
While this incident is true, I’d rate Pearce quite a bit higher than you did. He looked solid out there all game save a couple of plays. If you compare this game to the last, where the left side was torched, there is no comparison. Pearce held his own.
Jones looked tired to me in the 2nd half. Two games in 4 days will do that.
Count me in those that say it would have been more interesting to see Jones/Edu midfield in the 2nd.
Also what gives with Bradley NOT GIVING BEDOYA A CHANCE AGAINST HIS COLOMBIAN BLOODLINE? Same can be said for Lichaj last week. Come on Bob, as a land of immigrants, these guys deserved at a minimum a cameo against their familys home-lands. It makes for good story lines, it makes for great talk in the immigrant pockets, should have been done. Hell I would have trotted out Ives if we were playing Peru!
Christ this place is bleak today. To the gentleman from chicago:
1. Personally I wanted to see bradley subbed as well. Not because his play was poor (it was no worse than edu’s on the night), but because we saw the bradley/jones pairing for 90 min against poland. Jones appears to be the top cm, so it’d be nice to see how edu or holden plays with him as well.
2. The criticism of bbradley’s subs in either game is a little much. Against poland, bob used his best available players. He gave them 90 minutes to try to get comfortbable with each other and a new formation. The colombia game had a different objective (dempsey/howard not starting being the obvious clue). Colombia was for tinkering. Is there a rule somewhere that says all friendlies have to be approached the same way?
My Gold Cup Lineups
Howard
Pearce — Onyewu — Edu — Dolo
Jones — Bradley
Donovan — Holden — Dempsey
Jozy
or
Howard
Pearce — Onyewu — Gonzalez — Dolo
Jones — Edu
Donovan — Bradley — Holden
Dempsey
Usually just come here to read what the general USFAN takes from the matches but I really must stick my head in on one subject… MB is seeming more and more to be Daddy’s #1 because Edu and Jones clearly seem to be the better pairing in the midfield. Bradley is pretty much the ONLY player that doesn’t see bench time and it is starting to stand out, big time.
You are forgetting that Bradley is MUCH lesser of a player than both Edu and Jones. Jones is clearly going to be the best option, injuries withstanding, in 2014. I think that is the most clear thing we can take from these two matches. noob
I don’t know, I thought that was a pretty sweet assist by Eddie up the middle to a cutting… no one. Would have been a goal for Fulham
Right now, I think this is our best line-up (excluding guys that presumably will be too old for 2014):
Timmy
Lichaj — Gooch — Goodson — Pearce
Bradley — Jones
Donovan Holden Dempsey
Jozy
I like the midfield, and even the prospect of Jozy being ready by then. Despite the bashing, he is progressing. My biggest issue is in the back. I’m starting to get comfortable with Goodson. At least I like his distribution. But let’s hope that a couple youngsters step up — namely, Gonzalez and Ream.
I felt Lichaj did well. I was also impressed with Goodson.
Terrible and true. Also we were playing essentially 5 central midfielders last night and forcing two to play on the wing which just clogged things up more.
My biggest complaint of Bradley for a couple years is his inability to organize us. May it be the defense never closing down central runs, the midfield collapsing, etc – we just never seem to be on the same page and that is squarely down to the coach.
I love the change in attitude on this site.
Now Bradley doesn’t cut it, Gooch was never going to make it at Milan, and Altidore is not the answer. A few of us have been saying these things for months and gotten flamed every time.
Welcome to the light : )
totally agree about the width. the reason a team like chelsea is able to pull off having no true wingers in their midfield is because of wing backs like ashley cole. we dont use wing backs, and when we play 4 central midfielders (jones, bradley, edu, benny, torres, etc.) or guys that get sucked in easily (dempsey, donovan, holden), we have no width and it kills our game.
jones is better than bradley, i dont think anyone will argue against that. jones and bradley play the same positions, i dont think anyone will argue against that.
jones and bradley are defensive mids, i would think no one could really argue against that
the issue is whether we want our CM combo to be 2 defensive mids, not whether bradley is our 2nd best midfielder. an easy example is spain, where fabregas is easy one of their best 11, possibly better than both xabi alonso and busquets and david silva in a pure head to head comparison, but you have to think about positioning as well, and having 3 attacking mids (xavi, iniesta, and then cesc) won’t work so unfortunately cesc has to sit.
to me, it’s the same with bradley. if we play with 2 d mids we can’t hold possession, and our D is not as good as it used to be and we’ll give up goals. we also can’t create chances without possession, as our counter attacking game is off without davies’ speed. therefore, we need to put in a player in the xabi alonso/pirlo mold, a deeper lying possession guy. torres has never been given a complete chance. the guy has not gotten a full 90 and it’s too early to judge. people are saying we can’t bench MB after 3 bad games, but we’ve cut torres out on much less. benny also should get more looks there partnered with jones, and holden should as well.
the deep lying possession midfielder is what we need right now, and it aint MB, so MB needs to compete with jones/edu for the DM spot.
apparently you were not watchung the game..go to bigsoccer.com us mens news @ analysis and you will see thart mb had very few bad passes and played a pretty good game.
don’t let your bias interfere with you opinion.
Thank you. Everyone’s response is always ‘he’s 20’ but the point is, by now he should at least have a good first touch if he’s to be a true striker. He doesn’t. He should be more of a post player if anything. Guy is not the answer as a lone striker.
Edu is in the Champions League because he plays on the best team in a terrible league. Get real.
The whole team was out off with the new formation and 3 dm’s in the first half. When you put the team into context of where each player is their career and what we want to see from them Jozy and Lichaj were very good imo. In the second half when he went back to the 4-4-2 Jozy with EJ was a much better player. It looked like he pulled his hammie a bit and was not moving well for about 15 minutes or so.
Never-the-less he is by far our best option at forward. Buddle, EJ, Mwanga and all the others are just not as good as Jozy.
I know it’s been thrown out there before but how many 20 year olds in the entire world are better than Jozy? I don’t know the anwer but it’s probably only a few.
Totally.
With Jones in the team, Michael Bradley’s limitations come into painful focus.
I don’t “hate” the kid. I think Michael Bradley is quite a good player.
But if Jones remains healthy and in form, the sensible thing would be to consider — shock! — line-ups in which Michael Bradley does not start.
Um, I’m pretty sure Bradley wasn’t riding the bench last season. He started 30 games for his club team.
Stand corrected I meant to say he’s a better version of Rico. I just feel looking to the future we are better off with Edu who will be entering his prime then Jones who will be 32 by 2014.
Did anybody else notice that late in the second half, Feilhaber started dropping into central midfield. It seemed like it became even more crowded than when Edu was in there. Too many cooks in the kitchen.
GENERIC COMMENT OF OUTRAGE THAT A BUNCH OF PLAYERS WHO HAVE NEVER PLAYED TOGETHER IN A FORMATION THEY’VE NEVER PLAYED LOOKED LIKE A BUNCH OF PLAYERS WHO HAVE NEVER PLAYED TOGETHER IN A FORMATION THEY’VE NEVER PLAYED!
OUTRAAAAGGGEGGGEE!
Fire the coach!
Never call these guys up AGAIN!
.
.
.
.
Or just get over it.
You know, whatever.
The game was just a friendly, and I didn’t want any of our players to get injured and lose their jobs, but if I had bought a ticket to PPL I would have been pissed. As it was, we mostly played cards and watched Chilean miners get pulled to the surface.
While I don’t think MB needs to be “benched”, I do think there is enough depth at center mid that Bob needs to start looking at some combinations that don’t include his son. I personally would really like to see Holden get some time in the middle. I realize that there is a lot of talent between Jones/Edu/Bradley but they are all so similar that they get in each others way.
The team has no width in the midfield and it is killing the attack. Even when he brought on Dempsey it didn’t help much because he just pulls in behind the strikers most of the time, though he was much more effiecent passing in the offensive area than others.
I would have liked to see Bedoya come on since he seems to stay out wide. It would have helped the team to at least have one true winger.
Answer to all our problems:
………….Altidore………….
Dempsey…….Holden…….Donovan
……..Jones…..MB/Edu……….
CD9 needs CD9 back
+1
My thoughts exactly