Top Stories

Agudelo scores in dream debut, lifts young USA team to win in South Africa

Juan Agudelo USA (ISIPhotos.com)  

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

Juan Agudelo's birthday is six days away, but he got his best present a week early, scoring the game-winning goal to help the U.S. men's national team top South Africa in exhibition action in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Fellow debutant Mikkel Diskerud worked a give-and-go with Agudelo, who took a touch in the penalty area before coolly chipping a shot off the bottom of the crossbar for the only goal of the match.

The goal made Agudelo the youngest player to ever score a goal for the U.S. men's national team.

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan, the captain for the young U.S. side, preserved the shutout with a handful of clutch first-half saves.

On a night when five players made their U.S. national team debut, every one of the newcomers made a positive impression. Along with Agudelo and Diskerud, Tim Ream was solid as a solid central defender, while Teal Bunbury played the target forward role well for 45 minutes. Gale Agbossoumonde came on in the 87th minute and helped hold the lead.

It wasn't just the newcomers who impressed. Midfielder Alejandro Bedoya and right back Eric Lichaj were standouts on the right flank for the Americans, while veteran centerback Clarence Goodson was a rock in the middle of the defense.

Not all performances were good. Robbie Findley floundered yet again as a starting forward, while Jonathan Spector struggled at left back, as did starting left back Jonathan Bornstein.

The U.S. national team ends the year on a high note and will return to action in January against Chile, a game that could feature several of the same players who played in today's victory.

What did you think of the victory? Ready to order your Agudelo jersey? Excited for the future of the national team?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Xavi and Iniesta are incredibly quick over short distance. They cover a huge amount of ground over the course of a game. Always moving. They are great athletes.

    The ability to explode is a trait common to all great athletes. This includes soccer players. You are foolish if you don’t think soccer players don’t need to be great athletes as well as great technical players. Both athleticism and skill are equally important.

    Reply
  2. Interesting to see the range of opinions about Bedoya’s performance…

    I thought his workrate was good and he was one of the few to show some leadership and take some attacking initiative in the first half, and because he did that he may be getting blamed unfairly for the fact that we were ineffective on the occasions when we did have possession. Truth is, our first half struggles were probably due more to the fact that we had no credible threat up front (hi Robbie F.) and of course the lack of understanding among the players on the field.

    All in all, I thought Bedoya was fine and did nothing to harm his position in the national team pool.

    Reply
  3. I’ve been a converted Bradley believer since the Confederations Cup, so I agree wholeheartedly. Against all odds, he got a bunch of youngsters to gel in 3 days into an organized team.

    It looks like this world cup cycle will feature more youngsters making the jump to the national team than the previous cycle. Let’s hope they continue to impress.

    Reply
  4. Yeah I agree, there wasn’t much going forward. However, SA didn’t have one good look at goal. They never found their rhythm until late in the game when we dropped back deep in our own half.

    I have NEVER liked Eddie Gaven when he plays for the national team. But yesterday was the first time I was impressed by him. He is a crafty player, and did very well in the middle.

    Reply
  5. The assist was beautiful, but don’t forget Aguedelo started the play by finding Diskerud, and that the rarest thing in soccer is the brilliant finish. We’ve all seen great opportunities go wanting as the forward flubs the finish because he rushes or overhits. This kid took it cool, clean and clever. A wonderful thing.

    Reply
  6. You must have missed all the WC games. Bornstein did fine in South Africa. Not brilliant, but rarely put the team in jeopardy. Goals surrendered mostly came from the central part of the field. I’ve never been a big fan of his play with the US, but I’m not going to manufacture the truth, either.

    Reply
  7. You must have missed all the WC games. Bornstein did fine in South Africa. Not brilliant, but rarely put the team in jeopardy. Goals surrendered mostly came from the central part of the field. I’ve never been a big fan of his play with the US, but I’m not going to manufacture the truth, either.

    Reply
  8. “Please, just keep repeating this. Eventually someone will believe you.”

    Glad someone else also noticed! LOL

    I figured there must be some kind of prize for the number of mentions or something…

    Reply
  9. Okay, name one thing he did good in one friendly he has played, name one thing he has done as far as goals and assist ? No one seems to deny it so I am right because no one has said no Bedoya was great and named some things he did. He looked like a big flounder out of water the way he flubbered around on the pitch it was so annoying. Rogers is way better than him.

    Reply
  10. Okay that is one thing he did good was make the La Galaxy good. We are talking about as an announcer and a player not his work for signing Beckham. By the way Beckham had already had plans to end in MLS Lalas did not persuade him to end his career in MLS.

    Reply
  11. Although they will not have a future with the national team, I think it is important to recognize the performances of Pause and Carrol. Others may disagree, but I thought they did a great job of covering for others defensively and breaking up SA attacks in the midfield.

    Beyond that, many young players WITH a USMNT future were fantastic. Ream, Agudelo, Diskerud, Bedoya, Lichaj…to name a few. Others, such as Spector and Findley, showed that they should not get another cap until their club form improves.

    Finally, although I normally disagree with Lalas, he made an important point in his post-match analysis: the media and US fans should be cautious with the expectations we place on these young players based on this one performance. While Agudelo had a dream debut, he needs more time to develop as a player before he is seriously considered a contender for the USMNT first team.

    Reply
  12. Agreed. It’s painful to watch him throw in for either the US or West Ham. He goes into the process as if he were in super slow motion, and then proceeds to throw an unnecessarily high and looping ball to a player guarded by two defenders.

    Reply
  13. Not ready to give up on Spector just yet. Other than L Back. I feel much bettor about our back line than I did a month ago. Bedoya and Gaven played well. Can’t wait to see mix go 90. Still hoping Davis can come Back, Agudelo scored a nice goal but I am not ready to crown him the next Eto’o.

    Reply
  14. Robbie Findley is turrible, jus plain turrible (in Charles Barkley voice).

    He should never be allowed to wear our National Team jersey again.

    Reply
  15. First off, Bornstein really didn’t make any glaring mistakes today and was pretty steady throughout. Second, can you name a better option? No.

    Reply
  16. Yeah, I’m going to agree with the rest and say it doesn’t sound like a great idea (though I won’t jump all over the idea).

    Donovan is an attacking player, it’s what he’s good at. He runs fast and often, and creates a good deal of chances for himself and his teammates.

    We play players at positions where they could help the team. Defending isn’t Donovans strong suit (though he does get back to defend) and therefore having him at LB would seem to be soley for having him on the field.

    Attacking Lb’s are great assets, but not if they are detrimental/neutral to the back line.

    Reply
  17. I wouldn’t say dominated South Africa. It contained them and suppressed them and forced everything out wide, but I think dominate might be a bit strong.

    For me domination involves creating offensive chances. Sure, it was Findley up top, but we weren’t very strong going forward in the first half. I think we would need the 3 to get forward, with a stronger 1, and we could then dominate.

    Eddie Gaven seemed slow (is slow) but he’s crafty and today he didn’t allow it to be a detriment. This I think also says something positive about the quality of the MLS.

    Reply
  18. Hyperbole is easier than real analysis. In this particular instance, Bedoya was better than Rogers. Rogers looked tentative and struggled to maintain possession in the 1st half. Also, his first corner was atrocious. Bedoya was a factor, and was linking well with other players. I’m not saying Bedoya > Rogers (though, it is my opinion) but that Bedoya has looked like he might add to the team.

    Rogers is coming back from injury so even if he did play “horribly”, it wouldn’t mean anything other than he’s not where he used to be. The question is, where did he used to be? He seems inconsistent, and can fade in the background in games.

    Another question: Which Bedoya caps merit lumping him with Spector and Findely who I think we can all agree were objectively bad?

    Reply
  19. I am simply happy to see the possible depth we are creating on defense. With Bocanegra and maybe even Gooch kind of fizzing out by 2014, it is great to see the other prospects. Dolo will be older too so I am digging Lichaj and have really enjoyed watching Omar Gonzales, Ream, Borchers, Agbossoumonde all get minutes. Oh I can not forget Goodson. He has bee pretty solid lately. Now with all our talented midfield and finally a few more forwards to play around with, lets scour the land for a better left back.

    Reply
  20. I usually hate to see proven players moved out of their preferred position, but I actually think Jones would make a fantastic left back. I’m not sure if he would be interested in making that move, and I would hate to lose him as a center midfielder, but I think he could definitely make the transition…

    Reply
  21. Rogers was average at best. He had a couple of good moments but he definitely looked a little slow in the head and foot and had some real bad giveaways that gave RSA instant breakaways.

    Bedoya wasn’t much better. He makes good runs but is lacking for large spells.

    Reply
  22. If you don’t think Bornstein had a good WC you are biased. I honestly don’t think the guy is that great and hope we find someone better over the next 4 years but he played pretty good in the WC. I’d say he was probably our 2nd best defender behind Dolo.

    Reply
  23. Charlie Davies is the answer to that question.
    As well the US almost crashed out of that Tourney.
    But the real question is can the 11′ team be better than 09’… it suddenly looks doable.

    Reply
  24. “Some of the negativity on here … is ridiculous. It’s fun to like soccer, and it’s fun to like this team.”

    Amen, brother!

    Now never post here again, as you obviously must be among the idiots who have no clue whatsoever what they’re talking about.

    🙂

    Reply
  25. I’m with you on this. That assist was pure class. He pulled the ball back onto his opposite toe flicking it up then pushing it forward.. that’s some Brazilian type stuff.

    I think I preferred Spector. A couple of his giveaways I attributed to the recieptients not playing at the speed/where with all he was..

    Reply
  26. I second the tired of Lalas negativity thing. The only thing he did as a player was destroy; as an announcer he takes the same tack.

    Reply
  27. I think Donavon’s biggest weakness is defending in situations that get difficult. His size makes him less than effective defending high balls. Good teams would exploit that. He would not be my choice anywhere on the backline. Further, outside backs often face very fast wingers and the backs must be able to keep up the pace or get burned. I don’t think to suggest a player who has slowed a step could move to outside back seamlessly is right. Guys who have made a living at outside back and are a step slow can, by 100% concentration and good positioning, minimize the number of foot races they will lose, but not eliminate them.

    Reply
  28. Great game for Gaven. He no longer looks like a little boy playing with men. SA players fouled him too often which means they could not handle him legally. Bornstein (not sure why he gets so much for this game)had a much better game than Spector, no big mental lapses and he managed to complete his passes. Ream made a couple really great passes out of the back and was calm under pressure.Lijah was a revelation and probably third behind Guzan and Gaven among the US players. Nice goal and setup, but I really need to see more before I can call Agudelo and Diskerud the future of US soccer. Bunbury had a couple interesting plays and caused the SA defense to make a couple rushed clearances back to the US, something Findley failed at.

    Reply
  29. It’s not just about skills. This isn’t 1972. You can’t afford to have a big, fat # 10 running the show in the center of the pitch on a high level or you will be exploited. Speed is the primary attribute of every great player in he game today. Why do you think ‘dinho doesn’t even start for milan? If skill were the only important barometer, Clint Mathis would be the greatest u.s. player ever and Freddie Adu would be our starting #10. Good players blend work rate, speed and skill.

    Reply
  30. not sure how much better Jozy is than either Bunbury or Agudelo. Both have less hype, and seem to have their heads on straighter. Both are much faster than Jozy as well

    Reply
  31. Seriously? You’re seriously pretending that the comment wasn’t made in an insulting manner… Seriously? Are you just being ignorant?

    Reply
  32. The guy from Mexico from reports hasn’t been that impressive in Mexico; Castillo’s looking like he’s not the answer unfortunately.

    Lichaj with a hand tied behind his back is probably still best option at left back.

    Hopefully by 2014 we have a young player at the lichaj level on the left too.

    Reply

Leave a Comment