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Olympic Qualifying: USA U-23s vs. El Salvador (Match Night Commentary)

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Win or stay home.

That's what the U.S. Under-23 national team faces tonight in a must-win match against El Salvador in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying in Nashville (9pm, Universal Sports Network/mun2/universalsports.com/concacaf.com).

Anything but a win and the Americans will be eliminated from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, while a win would send the United States through into the semifinals as the winner of Group A (thanks to Cuba's stunning 1-1 draw vs. Canada tonight)

Before the Americans can think about the semifinals, they must contend with a dangerous El Salvador side that has looked sharp in the qualifying tournament. The Central American side has yet to allow a goal in the tournament, and has shown some dangerous qualities in attack.

SBI will be providing live commentary on tonight's crucial Olympic Qualifier, 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 is after the jump):

 

Comments

  1. well said. the thing that frustrates me is the mentality that we’re up, so we’re not going to play sharp, aggressive soccer anymore. why? it just felt like a mental thing, and entitlement or something. that’s what bothered me the most about this team.

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  2. Taking Adu off was a tactical decision and maybe given the flow of the game, that was a mistake. I don’t know — sometimes that’s a roll of the dice, whether to hunker down for the last 4 min or keep the high pressure.

    More importantly, where are the next GK’s coming from? Both keepers really were terrible.

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  3. THIS!!!

    suck in the air on set pieces.

    and more than anything, unfortunately, as Americans, our goalkeeping let things down

    most Atypical for USA soccer btw

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  4. I don’t see what Bradenton has to do with this team.

    This is a U-23 team bro. These guys are pros and have been for at least a couple of years in most cases. In others, some guys who actually played great tonight (Adu) did spend time in Bradenton.

    The Klinsman/Porter focus on playing beautiful football in the 4-3-3 is really taking all of the grit and focus out of U.S. football. The hallmark of U.S. teams was always their defensive concentration, furious work-rate, and piss-and-vinegar determination. I hope this is not a preview of WCQ (not saying it will be).

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  5. This teams downfall: Atrociuos defending. Atrocious game mangement and player management by Porter and Claudio Reyna. Astounded by all of the goal keeping errors. Ryan Meara may have just catapultated himself above both Johnson and Hamid. Atrociuos player selection. Anhtony Brooks should have been on this team. Luis Gil should have been on this team. Why was Dominique-Fennel not even thought about for DCM who by the way plays that position not CB where the coaches put him on the U-23 team. This team crumbled under the pressure. Porter never secured the defense. that is your first area to solidify period.

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  6. sorry, but morales, chandler, and jozy were three that come to mind. glad boyd got his shot hough, obviously should have against canada. hindsight and all.

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  7. There is a positive side to all this. Olympics will be a purer joy watching. I will spare my nerves over a disorganized bunch of clowns and their immature coach.

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  8. Good god as many people have pointed out why on earth do you take out your captain. Who by the way just led on a epic comeback. Adu was all over the place, btu Porter pulls him. Not a fan of late subbing. Refs will just add more time in teh end.

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  9. The Academy in Bradenton is a TOTAL flop. It’s been downhill since the first class. US Soccer has dumped millions into it, delusional parents get ripped off, and year after year it fails to produce top talent. What a waste.

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  10. So, Did Porter just get himself fired????? Man that was lousy coaching. Can’t wait for qualifying now. I just wish Agudelo was playing.

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  11. Eh, regarding John B’s comment, usually I won’t blame refs, especially when it a matter of deciding if a tackle is a yellow or a red or whatever, but when you have a player punch another player in the face, I think you can make the case. That isn’t soccer and you are sending the message to a team that you are even going to try and protect them, and you can tell me that doesn’t affect players psychologically. Actually, in basketball, football whatever, I never blame refs, even after my Orange lose an elite 8 game with terrible officials. Because I’m pretty sure those are always honest mistakes. In soccer? No way. There have been too many shady results and outright corruption in too many leagues around the world.

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  12. Adu never should have been subbed. That’s all on Porter. Why coaches think it’s OK to disrupt team chemistry the last three minutes of a game I’ll never know.

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