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USA vs. Costa Rica (SBI Live Commentary)

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By SBI SOCCER

Just three days after suffering a heartbreaking loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF Cup, the U.S. Men’s National Team will look to rebuild some sort of momentum Tuesday night.

The U.S. returns to action tonight at Red Bull Arena for a friendly against fellow CONCACAF power Costa Rica (7pm, ESPN). Tuesday’s action presents the team’s final action ahead of November’s World Cup qualifying kick off.

Following Saturday’s loss, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann sent home nine players, including Fabian Johnson, who was dismissed from the team after removing himself from the Mexico clash. In their stead, Bill Hamid, Mix Diskerud, Lee Nguyen, Brek Shea and Andrew Wooten join the squad, as Klinsmann is afforded the option of shaking up the lineup after 120 grueling minutes against Mexico.

The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team is also in action tonight (7pm NBC Universo), taking on Canada for a chance to advance to a one-game playoff against Costa Rica for a place in the 2016 Olympics.

SBI will be providing live commentary on tonight’s action so please feel free to following the action. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action(Tonight’s SBI Live Commentary is after the jump):

 

Live Blog USA vs. Costa Rica: SBI Live Commentary
 

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Comments

  1. I decided not to watch today and I’m glad I didn’t. I feel like I’m dying on the inside. It’s actually come to a point that I’d rather watch baseball (gasp!) than soccer. I completely ignore my family when US teams are on tv, and I can’t stand watching US men’s soccer teams play anymore…it’s like being kicked in the balls over and over and over again and I’ve given up. Peace out, USMNT. See you again when Klinsmann is gone.

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    • I know exactly how you feel. And if it’s affectiing how you feel about your time w your family, then you are right.. Nothing the USMNT will ever do is as important as family.

      Having said that, I’d encourage you not to give up on your national team because of a bad run of results or a coach you don’t like (I promise that a coach you love is much harder to find than a coach you can’t stand….).

      The fact is– we may not win anything besides a few Gold Cups in your lifetime. Probably that’s what Vegas would tell you. If you prefer the modest national pride of an “expected” championship such as the ones we usually win in basketball (this feeling has now been downgraded to “relief” rather than anthing amounting to excitement in my book, but that’s one man’s opinion).

      I follow lots of sports closely but there is only one that gives the feeling of elation and genuine national pride that soccer does. Nothing else comes close. But yes, it hurts a lot more than it feels good. That’s why it’s worth it. It belongs to us. Not JK, not LD, not Sunil, not FIFA.

      So go grab some food with your family and forget about it over some playoff baseball. Other than the U-23 game vs. Colombia, you have plenty of time to put the emotional burden of US soccer aside for a while, and things will turn around as they always do.

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      • Underwhelming performance. Players bumping into one another, out of position, little creative running off the ball, lack of team defense, huge amounts of ball-watching.

        So, couple times a year it’s necessary to say that not enough U.S. players understand the strategy of soccer. Soccer has three parts: skill, speed and strategy. With only a little skill, average speed and no strategy, it’s hard to excel. Bobby Wood’s goal against Mexico shows you how things go when you have good speed and *basic* strategy of how to move off the ball.

        US MNT should be forced to watch film of how Ireland beat Germany. Despite their good luck on the breakaway, for the rest of the game they made almost every pass count. No giving the ball away cheaply.

        I don’t see much of this being attributable to Klinsman. When your team is giving the ball away left and right, and not running, disorganized, this type of result occurs.

        Back to basics, USMNT. ‘trap. look. pass. move’ Our college players are looking better and better every year, but it will take some special jell and training to form a coherent squad. Youth soccer in U.S. still not producing (and may never) the types of soccer-sensible players needed to compete at high levels.

  2. Worst USMNT that I have ever seen even since the 1980’s. The people on the pitch looked like Sunday pub league players. I know they’re better but that’s the way they looked for sure.
    We need a coaching change now. Bruce Arena.

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  3. This is embarrassing almost beyond repair. I’ve said it here before and I am gonna say it again, if Klinsmann stays through WC Quals we are not going to Moscow 2018.

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  4. No more chances with Jozy out than with him in. Mayyyybe…it’s not the forwards with the problem?

    What am I thinking, this is SBI. Jozy rhymes with lazy, so we’ll just keep repeating that same old song.

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    • About the only player who had a decent game, it seemed to me, was Brad Evans. Maybe Tim Howard, too; he looks more assured than Guzan.

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  5. Maybe Sunil is there to fire Klinsmann. I am totally piissed at 12 or 13 minutes given to Nugyen and then at outside half. Not his position. He cannnot get a fair shot

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  6. How the hell you start Williams as the number 10? You have Mix and Nguyen on the bench to start the game? Wow JK you are lost? The more things change the more it remains the same.

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    • lmfao my thoughts exactly when i saw williams #10 im like he gonna play #6 lmao n he is supposedly more creative than those guys? what a farce

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    • He was horrible in this game, but he scored twice in the previous 4 games and looked good. When you made a ton of give aways, it’s not due to the position you’re playing in.

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  7. Very interesting with that shea substitution, shea walked right past klinsmanns outstretched arm and went straight to the bench. This team is not showing any fight, which you think they would for a coach they want to play for. This is pathetic and we need a change. Klinsmann gone. Gulati gone. Herzog gone.

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    • Was surprised how far he let the CR players go kicking the ball away teasingly after giving up a FK. So much for 10 yards… or 1 yard for that matter.

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  8. Made a good decision tonight. Decided to just flip between the games instead of recording one. Only wasted 45 minutes of my life and not an hour and a half. I was fortunate to see three bad Danny Williams give aways though. Maybe the red card for Canada will help the U-23s find the net . . . maybe.

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    • Decided to follow your cue and do the same. It’s a bit like those stories you sometimes hear about how your buddy’s dad caught him smoking and made him go in the garage and smoke the whole carton until he threw up.

      The other key takeaweay is that both of our kits are as uninspired as our recent play. The home kit looks like a golf shirt you’d wear to a place you didn’t intend to be invited back to (seriously I think we just bought some old England kits from the early 200s and made a couple of modest font modifications). And the away kit just looks like a practice jersey from a corporate 7-v-7 league. Canada (who have hardly been known for imaginitive kits in the past) look about 100 times cooler.

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    • Brad Evans block off the line was like a lost Rembrandt painting of a turd. Sure the quality was there…. but I still wish I hadn’t seen it, and I civilization will probably be better off if it is forgotten entirely.

      I spent 5 minutes trying to think of something positivie about the experience of watching this game and that was the best I could do. Originialy I was going to speculate that “at least it’s better than watching us lose that 4th place game” but Iam not sure I can stand behind that actually.

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  9. First Half Giveaways
    Williams give away
    Altidore give away
    Altidore give away
    Williams give away
    Cameron giveaway
    Yedlin giveaway
    Cameron giveaway
    Jones giveaway
    Jones giveaway
    Shea, Yedlin, Zardes,Williams, Zardes, Yedlin, Evans, Zardes, Jones, Jones,

    Least number of giveaways = Shea

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  10. I agree that JK may be in over his head at this point, but he can’t help it if the guys in the white jerseys can settle a ball within 8 feet of themselves on their first touch. My lands the USMNT looks like they are wearing lead shoes.

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  11. What sucks is that we are going to win this game and Altidore is going to score in an irrelevant games, as usually …..to give the klinsmann/Altidore lovers something to talk and argue about

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  12. What other forward you all wanna used who is somewhat established? Stfu, with your bitching. You all stay hating on Jozy , but never call Klinnsman out. Smmfh!

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  13. I prefer Shea and Yedlin at fullback, they aren’t technical enough on the wing, but do well finding space and making runs from deeper. No real play maker in the middle to find them. Just seems like an overly conservative line up but I hope they show well.

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  14. Feel bad for Cameron. He was one of the best players on Saturday and gets rewarded with having to play this game. No starter from Saturday should have to be in this game.

    Yes, altidore is starting too but he doesn’t really run so he can’t be tired. Would have been nice to see Wood get the start.

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  15. Why Klinsmann why? Orozco needs to go, Evans in the line up, Ream as LB? Yet, “we need to get younger and play more proactive soccer”?

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