Top Stories

USMNT 2, Mexico 0: Match Highlights

Eddie Johnson

Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fc7Phg7sec?feature=player_detailpage]

Comments

  1. Dempsey TOTALLY faked that PK. He looked calm, cool, and collective; it was written all over his face. Even Jurgen cracked a smile and knew that’s what Clint wanted. Fantastic.

    Reply
  2. I’m sure I have more, but here are some:

    (1) Tim Howard redeemed himself, good showing from him. I’d like to see Guzan play the remaining qualifiers in October.
    (2) Mexico’s coach made a big mistake taking off Gimenez
    (3) You were right, Gonzo played the best I’ve ever seen from him in a USMNT jersey. I remember one poor pass, but otherwise almost flawless
    (4) Beckerman seems useless, but I have to say that him staying home allowed Jones to wander (and not hurt us)
    (5) El Tri is ordinary
    (6) Landon’s first touch was phenomenal all night, he was a step ahead of everyone in his thought process. You can tell he is on form. Makes me wish (more) that he should have gone elsewhere during the transfer window
    (7) Fabian Johnson was bad. Every touch was hesitant. Picking up a knock and getting subbed may have been a blessing (even though it was Parkhurst)
    (8) Beasley seemed to have redeemed himself, but he wasn’t tested much.
    (9) Dempsey has lost “it.” I’m not sure what happened, but he looks very ordinary also
    (10) As much as I hate EJ, he actually played really well (even aside from the goal).
    (11) Diskerud (as you said) is a genius. I can’t wait for him and Bradley to be running the middle in Brazil.
    (12) Bedoya was a VERY pleasant surprise. Worked his ass off, made good runs and wasn’t afraid to get stuck in. Zusi has his work cut out for him
    (13) Once again, Jurgen is the man. Even though I despise Beckerman, having him start with Jones was the right move. And, putting on Diskerud was the perfect sub.
    (14) Jurgen will likely have some very difficult choices to make on the 23 to bring to Brazil….

    Here’s my guess:

    GK: Howard, Guzan, Rimando (3)
    D: Beasley, Evans, Cameron, Gonzalez, Brooks, Besler, Dolo/Parkhurst, Orozco (8)
    M: Donovan, Bradley, Jones, Diskerud, Zusi, Bedoya, Beckerman, F. Johnson (8)
    F: Altidore, Dempsey, E. Johnson, Johannson (4)

    (Obviously, Beasley, Cameron, Donovan, F. Johnson, E. Johnson and Dempsey can play multiple positions…)

    What you got?

    Reply
  3. Ives,

    Huge soccer fan but i am having trouble finding press conferences for the US team before and after games..do you have any suggestions

    Reply
  4. Strange highlights. Missed Howard’s best save of the night and a couple of instances of El Tri doing nothing with the ball. US Soccer needs to get someone else to do the highlight reels.

    Reply
  5. What a great game, and it was much closer than the score suggests. I was pretty worried for about the first 15 minutes until we settled in. I actually felt bad for Mexico, I thought I would never say that. Seems like they have quality players but just can’t get it together.

    Although, considering Andrés Guardado’s quote before the match “We just need to get it together mentally, We are the better team, that is for sure…”, f$ck em. That arrogance is their problem.

    Reply
    • Did not understand the Mex coach taking out Gimenez in 2nd half. When he did, I figured they were throwing in the towel.
      Superb touch by Mix on the 2nd goal, very classy.
      The Mexico midfield ruled the first 20 min, but you could see that they (& the US) had run out of gas by the 30 min mark. no effort from either team.

      Reply
    • There’s two ways of looking at that. A professional always needs to believe that he’s the best otherwise he won’t last long as a professional. A player also needs to focus on what they can do to prepare for a game rather than worrying about the other team.

      Now, when some talking head on TV says that, it’s pure arrogance. I have no doubt there’s no shortage of that in the Mexican sporting press.

      Reply
  6. Mix and Beckerman just solidified their spots. Mix may have also leapfrogged poor Stu Holden. Kid is class. He immediately brought a calming presence, and his first touch on the goal was sublime.

    Jermaine Jones. Dude played a great game last night, but here’s what I don’t get. His role is essentially a midfield destroyer. When he’s paired with Bradley, a better player in all regards, his forays upfield usually consign Bradley to sitting deeper, which frustrates all of us. When paired with Beckerman, a subpar player to him, you know he was given the license to roam forward, yet he played one of the most positionally perfect games I’ve seen him play for the USMNT. If he played like that with Bradley, it’d be great.

    Reply
    • Unfortunately, Stu’s opportunity to go to Brazil has came and went. The best he and we can hope for is to see him playing regularly in 6 mos and hopefully strong/solid within a year. Knee injuries and the resultant weakness/atrophy and loss in confidence in what your body can withstand take a while to get over. Pushing too much too soon often results in… well… where Holden finds himself today. Huge shame.

      Reply
  7. Really impressed with the USMNT last night. Showed fortitude and great depth. I wasn’t in Beckerman’s corner that much, but he sure played composed on the ball. If he keeps it up, he’ll definitely be in Brazil. Not starting, but just to earn a place on a World Cup squad is a feat in itself.

    Reply
  8. What we learned last night:

    UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should Deuce ever take a PK again. If LD is on the field, he should be the designated penalty taker.

    Tim Howard still deserves to be the starting US keeper.

    Kyle Beckerman played an excellent game as midfield destroyer.

    Reply
    • I have a feeling that he missed it on purpose. The US was already up by 2 and there was just a few minutes left. Keep the “DOS A CERO” tradition alive. No way Deuce completely misses the goal like that on a PK.

      Reply
      • That seems crazy. The point of soccer is to score goals. You earn a PK and you turn your back on it?

        What about goal differential? Couldn’t that miss decide whether we are seeded first in the hex or not?

      • Hex ranking has no bearing on anything, other than that the first 3 teams have 1 spot in the WC, and the fourth has an intercontinental playoff.

      • Not likely. A guy like Deuce is where he is because he wants goals no matter what.

        Deuce has historically been a crap penalty taker and the ONLY reason I can think of for why he took that one was, it really was irrelevant and he earned it.

      • Nope, his PK in Costa Rica was also a poor one, needing a lucky bounce off the GK’s body to go in. Give the PK’s to Jozy or Landon. Or Bacon. More Bacon.

    • Actually, Altidore is the best pk taker on the team. His pks last year for AZ were unbelievable, effortless precision efforts to either side up or down.

      Reply
  9. Alright, I’m going to say it. I’m a huge Dempsey fan been so since his rapper days. And the reason why I am a Dempsey fan, is because I was Deion sanders fan, a TO fan, an ARod fan, A TiTi Henry fan… It is because I like cocky aholes who don’t give a crap about what other people say and go out and be the best and talk while they’re doing it. There’s one little requirement that’s missing however with Dempsey atm… He’s not being the best… The second you’re not the best and you have the cocky swagger you’re going to draw the ire from fans. So Dempsey as someone who’s been in your corner… You better start scoring goals in Seattle or else, I’m going to doubt.

    Reply
      • Lol he didn’t assist on the goal. He got a touch on it because be was trying to score. And that PK against CR was lucky to find the back of the net. Open your eyes and see that he’s just not playing to the best of his abilities right now.

      • You could call it an “assist” or just “assisting”….Mix puts a ball straight across the net with 2 players running in….where you just hope one can get a foot on it before a Mexican player. Clint is first, but gets a slight toe on the run trying to get it in. If it was another player he might not have been in the right spot or been able to get the toe. Clint is right there…..when you have a guy like Clint crashing the box, good things happen. He helps create space for Mix….even the guy that should be 100% focused on LD is focused a bit more on Clint. If Clint misses it or is not even in the right spot….LD’s mark might have been able to get to the ball. He does what the first guy there is suppose to do….get a toe on it. He gets just enough to change the ball with the smallest of angles it gets enough in front of LDs guy by the time he knows its no longer going straight and would need to know be ahead of LD, LD is able to be the one to poke it in. Look at the famous US goal from the last WC. Its Duece who crashes the box and LD is there to knock the rebound in. You might not need to call it an “assist” but he did what you do there in his role. Get space for the guy with the ball, distract defenders, crash the box, stick out a limb to either get it to the goal or get your backside attacker (that sounds dirty) to finish the job.
        I think most of Clint’s goals are two types. 1- There is a cross and he just crashes the goal with his full body and gets it in or 2- He gets the ball well outside the top of the box and does a quick direction change on his defender and fires a rocket. He isnt normally the guy doing a shake and bake all the way into the net. When he isnt scoring just being in the area is enough to help pull defenders and make room for the other guys to score. I am not mad at him for missing the PK. The Duece kept it Dos a Cero. Its the final seconds of the match. You are already up 2-0. You have played a full 90 getting fouled all over the pitch. In your mind you want to be focused on the shot….but you are also realizing that you are qualifying for the WC and 2-0 or 3-0 it doesnt matter…you are going to Brazil. You might as well send the ball into the supports section so someone gets a nice souvenir.

    • One of the key principles in people management is when you accept someone’s @ssets you have tomaccept their liabilities as well. What we love about Dempsey is he scores goals. He oes hardto the goal, is always looking to score. Willing to try crazy stuff because sometimes it works. He has the ability. But when he gets in a rut like right now it can be fustrating. It used to bother me that he doesnt work hard on defense like the rest of he team, but i finally came to grips with his @ssets being worj he liabilities or this team. Actually, i thouh he played a little defense last night, it just seemed like everything he tried offensively blew up in his face. Hang in there ou will get our cocky oal scorer back in time

      Reply
    • In case you hadn’t noticed, over the course of qualifying, Demsey has surpassed Donovan, and has established himself as the best player on the USMNT.

      Reply
      • Dempsey? Best on the squad? Have you been watching? The USMNT have this ‘new guy’ named Michael Bradley. He is pretty good. Some might even say the best on the squad. Those in the know would most definitely say the best on the squad.

  10. If you look closely, right after Johnson scores the header, Jermaine Jones quickly approaches Jesus Corona, who is still sprawled on the pitch, and tells him something. My guess is he told him to tell Salcido he’d give him jersey after the match since it was pretty obvious that he really wanted it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to HoboMike Cancel reply