Photo by Winslow Townson/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Another subpar performance was overshadowed by another win. The only difference was that this one claimed the group and booked an early ticket to the knockout rounds.
A reserve-filled U.S. Men’s National Team sealed a first-place finish in Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Friday night, defeating Haiti, 1-0, at Gillette Stadium through a goal from Clint Dempsey. Dempsey struck for the third time in the tournament 62 seconds into the second half, one-timing a low ball from halftime substitute Gyasi Zardes into the back of the net.
The result saw the U.S. claim the top spot in its group with one match left to play. The Americans now have an uncatchable six points, and none of Haiti, Panama or Honduras can catch up.
Dempsey’s goal, which extended his current scoring streak to three games, came on one of the U.S.’s few promising attacking sequences. Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann inserted Gyasi Zardes at halftime for Jozy Altidore to help give the U.S. a more dynamic edge, and the move paid off immediately.
Left back Greg Garza clipped in a ball from the flank to Zardes, who calmly cut back a pass to Dempsey instead of firing a shot from a tight angle. The unmarked Dempsey then blasted the ball past Haiti goalkeeper Johnny Placide.
Looking deadly on the counter for much of the match and almost the entire first half, the Haitians nearly pulled level in the 57th minute. Duckens Nazon raced forward in transition and fired a hard shot that U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan stopped.
Nazon pounced on the rebound, but his ensuing effort hit the wrong side of the net.
Haiti also came close to scoring in the 10th minute, as Mechack Jerome skimmed the crossbar with a free kick from 25 yards out.
Wilde-Donald Guerrier nearly found the opener 10 minutes later, cutting inside of Greg Garza before uncorking a bending shot that soared high and wide.
Fielding a lineup with seven different starters from the one that took the field in Tuesday’s 2-1 win against Honduras, the U.S. looked disjointed and frustrated in the first half. The Americans were toothless in attack and under siege whenever they lost the ball to the speedy and physical Haitians.
The U.S. looked to open the scoring in the 34th minute, however. Jozy Altidore slipped in a pass to Aron Johannsson, who tucked a shot home. Referee Ricardo Montero called it back for offside despite replays showing that Johannsson was in a good position when the ball was played.
Clear-cut chances like that were not in abundance for the Americans even after Zardes set up Dempsey, but the goal allowed the Americans to settle a bit in the second half before closing out the game.
The U.S. will finish group play on Monday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, by taking on second-place Panama, which settled for a 1-1 draw with Honduras earlier on Friday.
—–
What did you think of the USMNT’s 1-0 win over Haiti? Which players have impressed/disappointed you? Concerned with the level of the Americans’ play so far?
Share your thoughts below.
Will everyone quit with the Lazy Jozy crap? He is still recovering from his hamstring injury and admits he is not able to play at the same speed as everyone else. That is not lazy, it is a pretty accurate of what I saw last night. He was unable to reach balls that he should have and looked lumbering.
I wish JK would let him complete his recovery instead of pushing him to try to do what he is not yet able to do. So I do agree he should not be starting, but not because there is a more talented replacement, but because Jozy is simply not able to perform at his best right now and there are players who are better than a recovering-from -injury Altidore.
+1
6 points, group sealed, Dempsey getting in form, Bedoya getting fit, JK is getting guys time, mission accomplished.
The group games are essentially warm ups. I would not put too much into our form yet.
We had a different lineup and formation for this game. Different back line.
JK is separating men from the boys. Zardes and Fabian are a killer flank. We are a much better midfield with Beckerman. Mix is not a starter.
I will say that Jozy should be benched vs Panama. He has been awful and lazy.
Give me more Ice man.
Perhaps a bit more than warm ups, but not really challenging contests. Nonetheless, when should we be concerned about “form?” My mantra is always “practice the way you intend to play.” Surely that applies even more to “warm ups.” For those of us who worry a bit and who are not perhaps fully convinced by the mighty Jurgen’s methods, the sloppiness on display in the last two games is a real concern.
Ah, the challenges of US soccer on the international stage. Great to get a win, but then again we always beat Haiti and Honduras, at least on American soil, even with Bob and Bruce were in charge. So what, if anything, does a game like this tell us about the US’ progress and its chances in the very challenging games it will face outside North and Central America?
First, Unkel Jurgen still has not settled on a lineup. Seems like he is using these round-robin games as tryouts; so some lineup changes are to be expected. (Of course, he would have looked silly, if his scratch lineup against Honduras had tumbled.) But the lineup fiddling goes further than that. 13 different defensive pairings in 15 games, said the TV last night. Seems a bit excessive. At some point a national team has to accept that his pool is what it is and he has to pick the best eleven and work with them. Will Unkel ever get to that realization?
Second, the lineup fiddling has undermined the development of real teamwork and cohesion. The US had better players than either Honduras or Haiti and that made the difference. Nonetheless, both opponents played better together on both offense and defense.
Third, the scrappy, hard working Americans of the past have been replaced by players slow to react and to tackle back. As Brad reminded us more than a few times, the US simply did not recover properly from losing the ball in midfield. And Haiti caught US players in possession repeatedly and won most of the 50-50 balls. I miss the old ways and suspect that we all will miss them in more challenging games.
Fourth, Unkel Jurgen’s better soccer, at this point, means concentrating on offense, spreading out even if there are only three midfielders and pushing forward at every chance. It has not yet meant better passing, better movement without the ball, and more creativity. Spreading out on offense (as opposed to the disreputable habit of Bob’s teams of staying compact) has contributed mightily to the US’s slowness to recover on defense. So far, Jurgen’s decision to stress offense has worked out, but again will it against better teams. If Haiti had converted only one of its many chances in the first 20 minutes, it would have been a very different game.
We do not always beat Haiti, only they and Mexico have winning records vs the US.
But the rest of your post seems pretty accurate.
– As Wynalda said post-game, Zardes is a striker. His heavy first touch makes him less effective on the wing.
– Garza was disappointing. Johnson a much better option.
– Nice to see Ream back in the fold.
– Would like to see Beckerman behind Bradley, and Mix and Yedlin out wide.
– If not Zardes, I’d like to see AJ with Dempsey up top.
Mix made the D line look bad in the game. Its obvious he isn’t ready to play the #6 role. He just does not have the bite to end breakaway’s without fail. There were several times where he had an opportunity to make a hard challenge that would stop a play whether he got the ball or not and they got by him. A couple of those times he even tried to foul and they shrugged it off.
That exposed the D which made Garza and Evans have to do more work than they should have needed to do. That said they didn’t cope very well. I hope Garza is still working back into form because he played so much better his first couple of games with the US. As for Evans you can clearly see why Chandler is preferred despite his occasional gaffs. Evans offered little in the attack; is slow which prevented him from closing down many long balls in his direction; and, whether it was due to his foot speed or general ability, whenever a Haitian came down his side all he ever did was stand them up and hope for support. If support wouldn’t come fast enough then a cross was nearly guaranteed. It didn’t even seem like he’d try to make a tackle. Chandler at least has closing speed and an ability to make a tackle so people cannot just hang out in zone 3 all day.
Beyond that the team in general needs to figure out how to pass out of a press. We just couldn’t do it in both games at least until the other team tired. Yes, JK’s tactics and personnel choices play a role but at the end of the day the players also need to execute better as well.
Finally we still are missing the talent needed to dominate. Every time the opposing D is allowed to get set we run out of ideas even against a less quality side like Haiti. I remember one play where we penetrated to the 18 but then the ball handler got closed down. Once the momentum halted we were able to retain possession but slowly got forced back to half field as the D solidified. A team with players with better touch, passing skills, and tactical knowledge can keep it no farther than 10yards out from the 18 and quickly swing it around to try to penetrate again. We inevitably have the ball pushed all the way back to our CBs.
ArJo and later Zardes looked good when we finally started stringing passes together. Zusi was useful but so painfully slow which limits his effectiveness.
The counter attacks are the main concern. Gotta fix that. I thought we looked good in the second half at times. Aron played his guts out and Zardes and Deuce were good as well. I think when we have our best players in their preferred roles we will be better in the knockout games.
The only time Mix should be near a jersey with the number “10” on it is when he’s doing someone else’s laundry.
“Trapp, Joya, Cameron, Feilhaber, Shipp, Nguyen,” they all have one thing in common, they lick Bradley’s cleats.
tired of watching Bradley, it would be nice to be developing one of the potential attacking-type mids or using an “8” with better defensive skills that can actually pick out a positive pass. This guy runs runs runs and basically that’s it…can’t connect in the final third, doesn’t hit the ball well at all, doesn’t have the technical skill to keep possession, doesn’t have good vision, isn’t a hammer defender, but it’s clear he will be here this cycle. I’d like to see Trapp, Joya, Cameron, Feilhaber, Shipp, Nguyen,
“Trapp, Joya, Cameron, Feilhaber, Shipp, Nguyen,” they all have one thing in common, they lick Bradley’s cleats.
Not too happy with the result. Please Jurgen, rest Altidore, Dempsey and Guzan.
Guzan looked horrible in the last three games, seem to lack calmness and communication with the defense.
TIM REAM! I called that he would start and he was by far was the calmest presence along the back four in either of the Gold Cups games thus far. Dude’s just smart, and he had to bail Garza out a few times.
Jozy has no confidence. Why would any striker pass up his look on that offside call?! He simply has no confidence- you can see it in his passes, his touches, even his movements without the ball. It doesn’t matter that he assisted a wrongly-called offside goal. In that moment, any striker would have unleashed a strike on goal at that moment unless a wide-open messi is sitting in front of goal. I’m not a Jozy hater, but even I have to admit his overall performance today was truly disappointing. When he mistouched that ball in the box and Klinnsman shook his head, I’m pretty sure Berti turned to Klinsy and said, “get him off” (watch the replay)
Now that being said, I think too many people are letting Aron Johannsson skate by without fair criticism. Aside from the goal he should have had, he really did not link up that well with the others and he was not sharp in his runs (how many offside calls ?!!?) or passing.
I do like him though; he shows those flashes of brilliance that are rare for a USMNT player and makes some clever runs. Zardes should have found AJ cutting near post just before his bicycle attempt to make it 2-0.
I like Ream’s game, but there was one play, the header he lost top of the box, it went out harmlessly but those are the plays where I worry about him, can he win against a top striker throughout a game in the air? A great CM needs to OWN the air
Derp Derp Derp Klinsman, Derp Derp Altidore and Zusi. Derp Derp Derpa Der.
-Mr. Derp
I didn’t catch that last part; say it again?
I know I should NEVER take these boards seriously, but tonight you guys are so over the top I can’t contain myself. What the hell is with this American Soccer Self Hating Mentality?!!!
Every joker who ever kicked a soccer ball once is an expert…hilarious! Remember the crap that was spewed after first WWC match…”Jill Ellis is clueless.” Well here we have it on the men’s side again. When this team wins the final it will only mean that people won’t complain for 48 hours.
USMNT won tonight…WON. Enjoy the victory, have a beer and before you start calling into question JK’s knowledge or a player’s ability research your own credentials a bit and consider…maybe they know more than you and that’s how they got the job.
Great comment, BellusLudas! I don’t understand why these so called fans so negative. If they hate the USMNT so much, don’t follow the game!
We can support the team and be critical at the same time. If not, we would still have Bob Bradley or Bruce Arena who no doubt played a role in progressing the program but got us as far as they could.
Yep. We need to remember that the US is in the toughest group ;by far yet we have already won the group after only 2 games.And people like Alexi Lalas don’t help. I found it so predictable as to be amusing that he jumped on the performance at halftime, saying it was due to the fact they the players weren’t comfortable playing in their positions and that was due to Klinsmann. Lalas was wrong about the US in the men’s World Cup, wrong about the women in the women’s World Cup and so consistently wrong, why does he get paid for his opinions? He and others encourage the arm chair coaches into thinking they know more about the sport than one of the world’s best players in his time.
good comments Gary, we saw what a crap GM Lalas was, he’s a friggin blowhard…
Alexis Lalas gets paid exactly to do that. I would do it too. Heck, I think I’d do it better, but I never was the best central defender in the US at any point, so he gets to do it.
I appreciate your positive outlook. I have it too at some times, but have learned that as soon as I get into that mode something happens that brings me down to earth. So, it’s best to look at the glass being half full and half empty. Nothing wrong with some criticism of Klinsi, he ain’t soccer god. I’d give this to Klinsmann, he’s gotten results, nothing that Bruce Arena didn’t do, but I am referring to the first this and first that. Also, I give him that he has taken us out to Europe far more often (I only hope we start touring South America, he did get us Chile), and the fact that he has widen the pool of players, we can now field two A teams at any moment (think of all the players that did not make this team) and be competitive, although anywhere where Bradley and Dempsey play would be my favorite. So, pull your head and get with the program.
“The Americans now have an uncatchable six points, and none of Haiti, Panama or Honduras can catch up.”
It’s writing like this that keeps me coming back to this website.
perhaps I’m in the minority with this but i thought AJ was VERY hot and cold today. he made good runs, had the bicycle attempt, had the goal wrongly called back, but there were SEVERAL times he just lost the ball with no one to fault but himself. I will say that I’m strongly an AJ supporter but he doesn’t always look his best for the NT; I know injuries have affected this.
other than that i wasn’t too displeased with the play, it wasn’t great, don’t get me wrong, but i’ve seen much worse. it was a wide open game (which i expected knowing Haiti’s style) for a few sections and that didn’t fit with our slower fullback selections (Garza and Evans) but other speedier options should fix that. I will say Evans looked solid for the most part; nothing exceptional, but solid (if i had to choose a “questionable call up” slot {there always is ONE} between him and brad davis i’d choose evans, even tho he’s not a winger, it frees up FJ/Yed to be a winger).
I hope Zardes continues to develop and contribute; I read an interesting article on him growing up and a work ethic compared to Russell Westbrook.
Clint’s gonna Clint
MB- unless he is flat out terrible for 10+ games in a row I’m sticking with him through the rough patches in terms of filling the “central motor” role; when he hits, he hits a jackpot, generally (pun intended).
Jozy- could have been a lil more selfish on a couple occasions; had an assist wrongly called back. didn’t score–fair enough…
vs panama i’d say sit MB (rest) use mix and becks in the middle.
Use AJ and Clint(C) up top (subbing on Jozy(C) for Clint at 60′, Wondo for AJ 83′).
As for the wide mids… so many options. Yedlin and Bedoya if he’s healthy?(Zardes subbing for either at 72′).
FJ and Chandler as FBs and, geez, just pick two CBs–i can’t even pick a best 2 lol. (Brooks and Ream? pshh, why not?…)
For GK- bring in the urban pirate– Yar-Bruh…
ill be here all night folks, tip your bartender.
Johannsson made mistakes for sure – but what I liked about him tonight is that he was always moving intelligently. if you watch his runs, he’s always checking his shoulders, always finding seams, and always calling for the ball. It’s really fun to watch. His final product wasn’t always great, but if he keeps making those runs, he’ll get a few tap-in goals and he’ll relax a bit and his final product will improve.
If I were JK, my German would be better, but also I’d send Jozy home, put Clint up top with AJ and put Zardes on the wing, start Bradley and Beckerman, bring Bedoya in for AJ in the 70th minute or so, send Zardes behind clint and bring Mixx in for Beckerman in the 71st minute.
I also thought Aron was hot and cold (mostly lukewarm, from what I saw). He was active but his touch/passing were lacking. I am glad he is getting minutes, and I think he could very well be a consistent starter in the near future, but he needs to show more consistently when he does play.
II would start Dempsey on the bench and bring him on the last 20 minutes if we need a goal. No need to have him play 3 games in a week when we’ve already won the group.
maybe Wondo starts with Jozy and magically they both get hat tricks; what then… WHAT THEN??? lol
Not against Panama, no. One or two goals top.
kind of news for you Davis, Lennon etc. Bradley hit your 10 bad games in a row years ago…I’d like to see him have 4 or 5 good out of 10….
Now I know for sure, you have it out for Bradley. You seem knowledgeable, except your bias against Bradley blinds you. Let’s be honest, Bradley is not Pirlo or Iniesta and he’s not gonna hit every pass he attempts. I concede he was a little anxious last night but I got the sense the whole team was. They seemed were trying to score that second goal too hard and that led to many decision errors. The guy always gives you 110% and is above average, even out of position, so cut him a break.
now that i see you are capable of seeing bias against a player, I only wish you could see your own bias towards a certain player…
you clearly missed my point…
I like your take on the overtraining, but I believe he works them hard through the group phase and backs off further into the tournament. It’s called tapering. Yes, even in soccer. The U.S. Was always getting out of the group…..
I don’t know what their training actually is but I’ve always chalked it up to tapering as well. I did it in sports growing up and just thought it made sense. I don’t get all up in arms about it as some may do. imho JK is just really pushing this “soccer24/7” thing. work hard/play hard sort of thing where everything you do you do it to the max. sleep the deepest, eat the best, train the hardest, guffaw the loudest, ponder the unthinkable etc.
ya it’s great unitl hamstrings start going “pop” in the WC- Jozy, Fabian, Besler…..
Blah, blah, blah, this player is garbage, that player is garbage, come on, people. Are your memories really so short? There’s one reason for this and it’s obvious and recurring. This is classic Klinsmann overtraining. No one on that pitch had good legs tonight except maybe for Zardes and he played 45. You can’t play without legs. This is exactly what happened last year. They’re overtrained and underprepared. It’s no coincidence that they always look their best when JK only has them for a day or two and he doesn’t have time to institute his beloved, leg destroying overtraining program. USA has been flat out run off the pitch the last 2 matches. JK is not without his virtues but his penchant for insane overtraining is his biggest negative IMO.
Do you know just how much they have to run in practice? Does anyone here? This is pure speculation. The US had 7 new players in the lineup tonight and training is never as tough as actual game play, so there is no reason why the majority of the team should have been tired.
I will say they looked tired, I was thinking it was due to the weather, humidity and that is why JK made so many changes, but a lot of MLS’ers out there and they play in this stuff for much of the year…so not sure..
Well, on a positive note, and there weren’t too many, I thought Omar played pretty well on defense. Evans did okay, too. I thought Evans would be too slow, but he held his own with good positioning I thought. We were kind of bail3ed out by very poor finishing by Haiti.
+1
Omar played well and looked strong and comfortable on the ball
What’s impressive about Evans is his versatility
Can’t wait for the player grades
Agreed. Omar and Ream both looked good, especially given the number of crosses they had to deal with and the speed of the Haitian attackers.
Ain’t that the truth about Haiti’s poor finishing. If those guys could shoot, we’d have lost 5-1.
You may be older, but wiser you are not. Had Haiti scored at any point in the match, I am pretty sure the game would not have unfolded exactly the same way after that point. In other words, any deviation from what actually happened, like a Haiti goal, would’ve changed the reality that followed.
You honestly think Haiti’s ability to run through the US defense like butter through a hot knife would have changed had they put a couple in? I suppose the U.S. could have chosen to bunker and play for a draw, but do you honestly think that if the U.S. had gone down a few they wouldn’t have started to press the attack leaving us even more vulnerable to Haiti’s speed on the counter? If so, you haven’t watched much soccer.
Enlighten me exactly how Haiti scoring a few goals would have caused the U.S. to pass more accurately, eliminate unforced errors and stop turning the ball over cheaply in the midfield, or caused U.S. players to run faster. None of Garza, Zusi or Evans are particularly fast and it showed last night. Moreover, explain to me how Haiti scoring a few would have caused the U.S. to suddenly generate creativity going forward.
Which bench players exactly would have saved the U.S. from defeat?
Obviously, that should be like a hot knife through butter — although the malapropism does present some interesting possibilities . . .
Seems that Greg Garza has seen his international career come to its end tonight. He was dispossessed of the ball on a number of occasions especially in the 1st half and is not fast enough for the international game as seen throughout the game. This is why he was subbed off for Johnson. This now means that Klinsmann must find a second string left back behind Johnson and no Beasley is not the long term solution. Is Shea the answer? I say it is too early to say.
Zusi may get a few more run outs but he too has a very short international career left after another poor showing. Once Nagbe and Manneh become eligible for selection who are both much faster than Zusi his international career is done.
+1K
“Once Nagbe and Manneh become eligible….” that comment means you flow up with talent in the pipeline!!!!!! And their eligibility should happen sometime this year.
I have to blame Jürgen for the poor first half. The team tactically had no idea what they were doing and it made it seem like Klinsmann underestimated Haiti and threw on 3 forwards. Dempsey is not a midfielder anymore and should stay up top for the rest of his career. Mix was all over the place, but settled down in a familiar role in the second half. Bradley was all of a sudden playing the #6 role after he’s been an 8 or a 10 for a few years now. And Zusi… well I have no idea where he was for the 75% of the match. Klinsmann got it right at half time by playing a familiar formation and pushing Dempsey up top. Jóhannsson had looked the best he’s looked in a national team shirt and was wrongly denied a goal.
The defense was interesting. Gonzales and Ream left me feeling more positive about them than before the game started despite some nervy moments. Garza lacks the speed needed at this level and has no impact on the attacking end. Evans was slightly better getting forward but I wouldn’t mind Chandler getting back into the mix. Also Guzan was immense. Timmy who?
Bradley wasn’t in a “6” position in the first half, he was playing an “8” and it doesn’t really matter Mix sucks in the 6 role behind Bradley and Bradley can’t excel at any of them but is terrible in the creative role behind the strikers whether that is as an “8” or a “10”
Do I sense you have it out for Bradley?
I’ve really liked how the three main Caribean nations are playing. Probably by now half of Cuba’s team have defected so they don’t count. But T&T, Jamaica, and Haiti have been playing exciting attacking football.
+1
They’ve been superb. I like the aggression.
Altidore was garbage. JA and Zardes so much more movement. Need Bedoya to get healthy asap. Second game I thought Bradley was subpar
Should be clear to all, j.a. was not going to be the cause of HAI to go down a goal. JR should tell him to dress, return to hotel, and book a flight home at the half. He would be done, you chose to put on the colors, then bring the heart. As for m.b. wake up, too often bad give aways, and quick counters for the other side. Cap, not in my team, leave him out of the 11. Plays only in last 10-20, if we need a goal,
MB often tries to do too much and the other players defer to him, usually passing to him to set up the attack. I think he was tired and needs to miss the next game and get a rest.
last 10-20 if you need a goal? Bradley ain’t that guy, i have never been a fan, I know he runs and runs he just is not suited to playing in a focused role. Altidore is a victim of Bradley’s inability to keep possession and provide creativity…Feilhaber please!
Someone needs to be held accountable for the field. Who at US soccer is responsible for signing the contracts with venues?
Gold Cup is a Concacaf event
wow, I deserved that. All righty, the point is that young sod or sod on top of turf is a significant drag on a game, and I would like the practice to stop. I don’t think I’m asking for something that’s unreasonable.
you’re right, if they are going to insist on grass, then damnit, pick stadiums with GRASS, we have plenty throughout the nation…what a friggin recurring JOKE!
Excellent.
Not to beat up on the guy too much, but when Zusi is out there, it feels like we are playing 10 v. 11. I can remember one positive contribution from him tonight, a decent run that led to a corner at the very end of the match. Otherwise, he was either nonexistent, turning it over, or getting muscled off the ball. He needs to be replaced after the group stage, he just no longer belongs on this level.
Agree.
Yeah… what’s up with Bedoya not playing? He hurt?
Bedoya is still recuperating a knee injury that his club team didn’t take care of fast enough. He’s very pissed at them.
+1000
yep, Zusi is in over his head at the int’l level, Klinnsman’s fault, Zusi has a teammate name Feilhaber who is very proven at this level….
Okay we all know what’s good…… Alti-noscore does what he does best, does not score goals. He should be on the bench, the ball doesn’t lie. The man cannot score, cannot draw players, cannot find openings or make runs and cannot assist….why does Klinsmann keep forcing the issue. Zardes took a minute and change to make an impact for the USMNT. Aron Johannsson looked dynamic, made good runs, combined well with Dempsey, Zardes, Diskerud and Bradley. The Altidore is standing in the FW doorway and preventing talent from coming through, because if he was to be evaluated on his performance he would have already been on the bench. What do you do when all you know is hold-up play and it is ineffective because the opposition is as strong as you? Absolutely nothing
Excellent.
Altidore had an assist wrongly called off-sides. I guess that calls into question the veracity of the rest of your post, too.
Is he that terrible that we have to credit him a virtual assist? I mean whatever you want to do lol
Andy, just take a step back and look at Jozy’s performances lately, though… He’s been truly shocking – and he must be the most inconsistent player we’ve ever had. For me, he vanishes far too much.. and frankly, he’s lazy – his movement and the intelligence of his runs has always been a little suspect, but look at him now – he’s actually fat!
I understand the desire to stick up for him, but it’s pretty hard to do that. I agree that he’s standing in the way of attacking talent coming through.
I’m actually pretty excited about young attacking talent we have – wood, morris, agudelo, zardes, gyau,boyd, johannson, zelalem…. I just have to wonder what attributes Jozy has that would make him a striker that we can rely on for any meaningful competition. Eddie Johnson scored a lot of goals for the US too, but there was never any question that he would be leading the US anywhere. I see no difference.
I guess you can call it an assist. It was a pass (or shot?) that deflected off of a Haitian player and dropped to AJ. Jozy should have shot rather than passed.
Jozy will start next game. Klinsmann is not one to admit his mistakes.
Since the next game is meaningless, thiat would be the best time to start Altidore to see if he can redeem himself. He really has regressed.
perhaps if we had a halfway decent mid in the attacking role playing in Bradley’s stead Jozy could get just a bit of service? Clint, and Aron were beneficiaries of Zardes vision and ability and willingness to combine, Bradley has snuffed out attack after attack the last two games, he just can’t find the pass…lacks vision, creativity, technical ability…he runs a lot I’ll give him that
I’d say we played better than against Honduras, slightly. Take the 3 points and move on. And please, DO NOT lose to Panama.
Well the Panama match doesn’t mean anything now. However this team still needs to find itself so it’ll be interesting to see what Klinsmann does. He and the staff were clearly not happy after.
Squad changes after the group stage is going to be a MAJOR talking point.
I’m curious to see if Besler is brought in; could be telling for his future with the NT.
Could someone who watches more MLS than me give insight into his recent disfavor? I thought he was no doubt our best CB for the last couple of years, and now… nothing.
With how Ream played last night I don’t JK will be in any hurry to usher in Besler! Aside from a few early nervy moments from the entire backline, I don’t think TR put a foot wrong and its easy to see playing at Bolton has made him a better player!!
I agree that we played better than the first game, but not by much and that’s hardly saying much considering how poorly we played vs. Honduras. Although not as many as the first game, the US still has too many give aways and Haiti was so quick on the counter attack. I find it very frustrating to see a team like Haiti pass the ball better than the US. There’s reallly no excuse for that.
it’s ok to play into a tournament, we are grabbing the points and truly we just aren’t that good, we are the same team we have always been, grind it out grind it out grind it out…it will come down to us v. Mexico, and we have the advantage on US soil
Wow…we were shockingly bad. Amidst all of the Altidore abuse, don’t forget how horribly Garza played. He was simply abused. Along with much of the US team, just not to such an astounding degree.
Jozy was awful. Not much more to say on that point.
We were constantly put at risk on the counterattack. If the Haitian players could hit the broad side of a barn with their shots, we probably would have lost. Actually, was more deserving of the win. That can also be said of Honduras in the first game. Both games have been classic US performances against CONCACAF competition. Based on these performances, I see the US being bounces out of the competition early in the knock-out stages.
Maybe such a result would force JK usher out some of the ineffective players–Altidore, Zusi, Mix–and force JK to routinely call in the younger, hungrier players who beat Holland and Germany.