By IVES GALARCEP
EAST HARTFORD, Conn.– Landon Donovan will take the field for the U.S. Men’s National Team for one final time as the Americans take on Ecuador tonight at Rentschler Field in Donovan’s national team swan song (7pm, ESPN).
Jurgen Klinsmann has called in a young team for tonight’s match, but Donovan will take center stage in his final USA appearance. He is in the starting lineup, and wearing the captain’s armband for a clash against World Cup participant Ecuador.
Joe Gyau, DeAndre Yedlin and Greg Garza are among the young players earning starts alongside Donovan in a match that should help Klinsmann get a sense of which of the next generation of prospects is ready to step up.
If you will be watching tonight’s match, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Tonight’s commentary is after the jump):
Thanks Landon for your years of leading US soccer on the field to better place than you found it.
Nobody looked worse than Klinsmann tonight.
Chico, he’s going to look a lot worse a lot more often during the next four years.
Why do you keep posting this? Good job posting a worthless empty comment.
Newsflash : Tim Ream still sucks
I’ve been saying Wood isn’t nothing special.
This guy isn’t even a starter for a second division team. He isn’t ready.
he’s 21, JK is testing him now in hopes that when he’s 23/24 he will have progressed and will look back on these times as gaining experience. He didn’t play well today, looked timid and indecisive (typical qualities for a players first few games for a NT. yedlin’s very first cap wasnt brilliant. niether was green’s
Very unimpressed with wood. Corona Garza and Orozxo are hair marginal players. Don’t understand how marginal players in the Mexican league are considered nat worthy. The Mex league is not that much better than MLS and it is defiantely not la liga. Just like marginal players from MLS should bt be called up neither should MEX league players unless they are dominant or at least very good.
That means we are in deep shiat.
I thought garza was good! The others I agree with though. Especially corona.
+1 Garza was good…. others very forgettable.
Orozco’s generally played well for us, and garza looked decent today. Corona wasn’t too impressive though.
So, what’s the next team vs. Honduras, the South American and Asian based players?
Observations from tonight:
No doubt LD should have been in Brazil. Best player on the field tonight; quality of play declined after his sub.
Disappointed for Gyau, really wanted to see him tonight
Garza could potentially be the LB long term; Chandler been solid at RB.
I like Yedlin at RM more than RB, can really attack defenders 1v1.
Bobby Wood just meh, blew an opportunity tonight.
Mix will start at CM in Russia and for a lot of our games the next 4 years. Great job as a 2 way mid tonight
Corona and Bedoya=meh.
Wondolowski should never wear the NATS shirt, much less the armband
Garza looked a lil slow out there tonite, but Ecuador brought their track and field team. And, Bedoya belongs long term a well. Everything else, I have to agree with you.
I agree on every point. Not really convinced by Corona or Bedoya.
I wonder if Jozy could almost play more as a 10. I’m fine with him, if he’s going to create chances but we need to play a goal scorer near him.
“Wondolowski should never wear the NATS shirt, much less the armband.”
Wondolowski is one of Der Klinsmacher’s favorites. That’s why he got called in. That’s why he wore the armband (instead of Guzan, who has now spent the bulk of his pro career in the Premier League). Get used to it for the next four years…if Der Klinsmacher survives that long.
no chance Wondo is still around in 4 years……. he’s 31……. this was his mini/unkown send-off game….
And Wood wraps things up with a flaccid attempt.
After minute 42, complete domination by Ecuador.
That was a sick,sick goal.
What’s up? Is it Soccer By Ives or is it SBISoccer?
Is Bedoya still out there?
Apparently not. I think Chandler too his spot as the team’s diver
I never have idea whats going by the end of our friendlies. So many formation changes and players moving around.
Wood just got cooked there. Hasn’t looked good all night
Wood manages to look so good and so bad at the same time. How old is he
Just 21 still
Chicky, forget about Jozy’s play in the air not being good. Did you see him just now wiff with his head?
Who’s ‘Chicky’?
Klinsmann is a &ۤ&! Everyone who watched the first 42 minutes knows that Donovan should have been playing in Brazil.
It’s over….
Landon Donovan
It is sad to say, but Donovan still has it. No doubt he would’ve helped a lot in Brazil, maybe the difference against Belgium. This is an early retirement, imo.
Also Mix actually on the field might have helped as well.
If Klinsmann wants to win this game he has to leave Landon in. Donovan has played the best of any player on the field in the first half. No one is even close. Yedlin is playing good but the rest of the team, not so well.
I thought Jozy’s done pretty well
His touch is rough though, too much strength and is lacking some finesse.
Why did Jurgen take him out in the 41st min?
he wanted to see if donavon could get another one
you mean ‘Donovan’?
There was a lot of uninterrupted play after the 33rd minute, and Gyau was out early. He wasn’t counting on that one.
Jozy gave Donavon that goal! but fail
By one inch is not a miss or “fail.” It was bad luck. Now, wtf is your point anyways?
Wondo would’ve finished it.
Just like he did in the World Cup, right?
whoosh!
I’m having the same issue on the iPhone. I also can’t respond to earlier comments :/
Is anyone else not able to see the entire commentary on an iPhone? The end of every line is cut off
Nice goal by Diskerud. However another early game no contact injury for the US (Joe Gyau). This happened a lot to the US in the World Cup. Is something wrong with the fitness/training regimen?
I think that he took that knock on the side line earlier, then tried to run it off but couldn’t
If you notice, he went down awkwardly running that ball down on the sideline and got up in pain, TT and Ian just didn’t see it, and then the camera showed that he just went down..but the injury happened before that
In a word, yes.
Or as Fabian Johnson might have said, “jawohl!”
😉
I wonder the same thing. Our players might have muscles too tight or soemthing…just a theory. Compare our nats to Mexicos… Way more catostrpophic injuries for the US. The average US player is stronger more athletic and bigger than the average Mex counterpart yet more injuries..
then again US players way more likely to play in physical hack a man leagues than Mexicans.
I think the training regimen was a very likely factor in the world cup injuries, but I don’t think these guys were even in camp long enough for that to have been an issue here.
Greg Garza…. Total Football Legend