Good evening folks. Tonight is the night that several top young American talents will face the first tough test of their national team careers. The U.S. national team is on the road tonight, taking on Trinidad & Tobago (8pm, ESPN) in a match T&T desperately needs in order to try and pull clear of Guatemala for the second qualifying place in their group. The United States already has one of the spots.
I will be offering running commentary throughout the night so please feel free to follow along here. As always, if you will be watching the match, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the action in the comments section below.
Let’s get started with the USA lineup. Enjoy tonight’s match:
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FINAL- That’s all for now. I will offer up some more analysis and some player grades on Thursday. For now, feel free to share your thoughts on the match in the comments section below.
Thanks to all of you for following along here tonight.
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FINAL- Here’s hoping some folks have learned tonight that the idea of playing a bunch of young players in meaningful qualifiers is never a good idea, and that tonight was the right situation to give youngsters a look. Some folks should also have a better appreciation for the 1-0 victories in Guatemala and Cuba. Playing on the road in tough field conditions and intense stadiums isn’t easy.
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FINAL- It was tough to get a real sense of how the midfield and forwards did tonight considering the condition of the field, but Adu impressed at times and Altidore and Davies showed some good skills and speed.
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FINAL- American fans shouldn’t worry too much about the result. Tonight was about getting some young guys experience. There were some bright spots, like Altidore, Davies and Orozco, but also some disappointments, like Kljestan and Edu (although Edu played better in the second half).
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FINAL- Trinidad & Tobago 2, USA 1. With that win and Guatemala’s loss to Cuba, T&T has a three point lead with just one match remaining against Cuba while Guatemala has to play the USA. You can all but book Trinidad & Tobago’s place in the Hexagonal.
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92nd minute- Kljestan with another turnover. DRINK (I’ve switched to Nyquil).
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91st minute- Make that two minutes of stoppage time.
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91st minute- Three minutes of stoppage time.
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90th minute- Szetela slides a ball across the box but nodobdy gets to it. Nice look though.
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88th minute- Hejduk with a long run-up on a clear shot but it is blocked.
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87th minute- Rolfe set to come in for Pearce, which will likely mean Beasley sliding to left back.
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86th minute- Chris Rolfe is coming in.
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85th minute- Hejduk with another turnover. DRINK (okay, I’m out of beer).
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84th minute- If T&T holds on, with Guatemala losing, Trinidad would go into its final match needing just a tie against Cuba to advance to the Hexagonal.
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84th minute- WOW, so close. Altidore with a header from close range but sends it just wide. Dangerous chance for the Americans.
Szetela in for Torres.
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83rd minute- Danny Szetela coming in.
CUBA SCORES IN STOPPAGE TIME!!
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82nd minute- Kljestan turnover! DRINK.
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81st minute- Pearce draws a free kick on the leftwing.
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80th minute- For those who didn’t see the PK call, it was legit. Altidore grabbed a jersey on a corner kick and got caught.
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79th minute- GOAL TRINIDAD. Yorke converts the PK!!! 2-1 to T&T
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78th minute- PENALTY!!! T&T earns it. Altidore called for it.
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77th minute- For those of you wondering, Houston leads San Jose, 1-0.
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76th minute- Great work from Altidore, to go at a defender, get into the area, and slide a pass to an open Davies. That substitution worked out well, didn’t it?
And yes, that’s Charlie Davies’ first national team goal.
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75th minute- GOAL USA!!! Charlie Davies finishes a sequence started by Jozy Altidore who did tons of work to make it happen. 1-1
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74th minute- Guatemala ties Cuba, 1-1. The Chicago Fire’s Marco Papa with the equalizer. Also, Mexico has tied Canada, 1-1.
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73rd minute- Edu turnover. DRINK
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70th minute- So why Adu? It was either going to be Adu or Torres and Torres looks a little bit more energized in the second half.
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69th minute- Great camera work catches Adu finding out he was the sub. Let’s just say he wasn’t happy.
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68th minute- Davies for Adu. Look for Torres to slide forward as the USA moves to a 4-4-2.
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68th minute- Okay, it’s time for subs and Charlie Davies is coming in.
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66th minute- Birchall with a good tackle to stop Adu. Birchall has played very well in central midfield for T&T tonight.
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64th minute- Latapy is on fire. He does not look 40.
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62nd minute- That will probably be ruled an own goal. Chris Birchall started that sequence on a Hejduk turnover, Edwards with a nice run and cross from the right to a wide-open Latapy, who hits one off the left post and off Guzan’s back and into the net.
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61st minute- GOAL TRINIDAD & TOBAGO!!!! And it’s the old man, Russell Latapy, with the finish!!!
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59th minute- Kljestan with an awful turnover. He has overtaken Edu as worst player this game for the USA.
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58th minute- You know what I like about Trinidad & Tobago? They don’t dive. It’s so much easier to watch a game when one team isn’t diving all over the place.
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57th minute- Edu with a nice run forward and dish to Altidore, but Altidore can’t latch on to it.
Canada is up, 1-0, on Mexico. WOW.
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55th minute- We need a new drinking game. How about Hejduk turnovers/bad crosses?
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54th minute- Wow, T&T with some good looks off a corner kick but can’t capitalize. Americans dodge another bullet after a poor clearance.
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52nd minute-Cuba leads Guatemala, 1-0, in the 62nd minute. Big Upset possibility.
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52nd minute- Freddy Adu has looked very sharp tonight.
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50th minute- Can someone tell the U.S. midfielders to play balls to Altidore’s feet because a 6-4 guy is marking him in the air.
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49th minute- Better passing in the second half so far from the Americans. Hejduk still looks shaky though.
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48th minute- Chile just beat Argentina, 1-0, in CONMEBOL qualifying. WOW.
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48th minute- Nice passing by the americans but offside is called. Wow, another blown call. Torres to Altidore should have been a goal. The linesman is having a shocker.
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46th minute- We’re off.
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HALFTIME- Looks like it’s the same 11 for the Americans to start the second half.
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HALFTIME- Look forTrinidad & Tobago to make some attacking subs. Stern John is one option who could give the Americans trouble.
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HALFTIME- It looks like the comments section is working properly again so thanks to all of you who stuck it out and kept commenting.
I do have to say that while the field has kept both teams from doing much, Russell Latapy has shown some flashes and just might deliver the winning pass in this match. Also remember that Keon Daniel is a nasty free kick specialist so if there are any free kicks in front of goal for T&T Guzan will be in trouble.
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HALFTIME- So what’s the problem? First off, the field is absolutely terrible. No sure footing and the ball doesn’t roll true. That makes for an ugly match. That said, the Americans are too timid. Edu was a mess the first 30 minutes and Torres has been up and down. Kljestan was forgettable while Adu was solid.
What needs to change? Inserting a second forward, like Charlie Davies, could open up the T&T defense. I also think we need to see Marvell Wynne in the second half. Frankie Hejduk has looked terrible.
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HALFTIME- What an ugly half. A lot of people wanted to see the kids, thinking they would get on the field and dominate. So much for that.
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46th minute- Whoa, Latapy nearly springs Scotland with a nice pass. Scotland goes wide.
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45th minute- Edu has settled down and made some good passes lately.
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43rd minute- Two subs I would LOVE to see at halftime are Marvell Wynne for Hejduk and Danny Szetela for Edu.
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42nd minute- The field really is a mess tonight.
Cuba is leading Guatemala. WOW.
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41st minute- Edu completed two passes in a row. Nice work.
Adu with another good pass but Hejduk’s trademark bad crossing rears its ugly head.
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40th minute- You can certainly tell these guys aren’t that used to playing together. I do like what I’ve seen from Orozco.
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39th minute- Edu turnover AGAIN. Okay, this is getting painful. he’s better than this.
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38th minute- Feel free to mix in some water in the Edu drinking game. I don’t want anybody throwing up.
Overall, I like what I see from Adu, but not from Kljestan.
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37th minute- Edu with two turnovers in less than a minute. DRINK TWICE
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36th minute- Maurice Edu looks really confused out there. I know he hasn’t been playing for Rangers, but he looks really bad tonight.
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34th minute- Keyono Thomas looks to be leaving the match with a calf strain. USA corner kick
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33rd minute- Wow, saw a lot of empty seats on the opposite side of the field from the camera. Where are all the Trinidad fans?
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32nd minute- Edu turnover. DRINK
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31st minute- Altidore fouls Yorke. Not every day you see an 18-year old foul a 36-year-old. Well, okay, so maybe you see it in MLS. Quite a bit. Just kidding.
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28th minute- Edu with another turnover. Might be time for a Maurice Edu turnover drinking game.
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28th minute- I will say one thing. For all the pull Jack Warner has with FIFA you would think Trinidad’s home stadium would have a nicer field.
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26th minute- Looks like an Altidore pass to Beasley was incorrectly ruled offside. Nice pass from Altidore. Good idea.
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26th minute- Some of the young Americans look sluggish out there.
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25th minute- Edu gets stripped of the ball, leading to a counter, but Trinidad can’t capitalize.
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24th minute- T&T with a stretch of possession but can’t make anything happen with it.
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21st minute- Anybody seen Maurice Edu?
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20th minute- Beasley looks good tonight. The youngsters in attack haven’t been as sharp save for Adu.
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17th minute- Wow, Keyono Thomas just had a clear look at goal that he sent over the crossbar from close range. USA got lucky there.
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16th minute- A Trinidad corner earned by Scotland against Pearce.
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15th minute- Hey folks,not sure what the deal is but not all the comments are showing up on the page. Please be patient while I try to sort that out. Just keep sending your comments along.
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14th minute- Some good work from Adu here, very good touches and passes.
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13th minute- Kljestan’s free kicks have been terrible early on.
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12th minute- Adu draws a foul and good free kick.
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11th minute- Birchall gets the better of Torres, brushing him off before putting a good shot on goal that Guzan stops.
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9th minute- Hejduk and Kljestan are the MLS players. Torres and Orozco the Mexican League players.
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8th minute- Interesting sidenote. There are as many U.S. starters who play in the Mexican First division as play in MLS. Two apiece.
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6th minute- Still waiting for some prolonged possession from the U.S. midfield. Altidore is still looking for a good pass.
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4th minute- Good save from Guzan on a Daniel free kick. Orozco clears the rebound.
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4th minute- Torres with a silly foul for a T&T free kick.
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3rd minute- We’re under way and the Americans have the early possession.
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PRE-GAME- Those of you wondering about Jose Francisco Torres playing "d-mid" should relax. Torres is playing a central midfield position that will allow him to get into the attack while also giving him some defensive responsibilities. He played the same role against Cuba and looked good. He’s got a good motor and is willing to defend.
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PRE-GAME- Jozy Altidore is going to have his hands full today with 6-foot-3 defender Dennis Lawrence. Actually, Altidore’s speed and quickness could cause problems for the 34-year-old defender.
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PRE-GAME- I have to say I’ve never heard a steel-drum version of the American anthem. Not bad.
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PRE-GAME- Now I don’t want to say T&T has some old guys in the lineup, but the 40-year-old Russell Latapy is old enough to be the father of more than half the U.S. national team. Dwight Yorke (36) isn’t young either. In fact, both Latapy and Yorke played in the 1989 World Cup qualifier the U.S. national team won to reach the 1990 World Cup.
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PRE-GAME- Here is Trinidad & Tobago’s lineup:
——————-Jason Scotland———–
Daniel—————-Latapy—————Edwards
—————Yorke———-Birchall—————
A. Edwards—–Lawrence—-Thomas—–Spann
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PRE-GAME- Michael Orozco gets the nod in central defense, his first national team start. Most folks will remember his shaky work at left back in the Olympics (and The Elbow) but you should also remember his solid work in central defense during Olympic qualifying.
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PRE-GAME- Torres gets the start and it will be fun to watch him work his way into the attack from a deeper position, while Adu pushes deeper and looks to find the cracks in T&T’s defense.
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PRE-GAME- Here is the USA lineup for tonight’s match:
———————-Altidore———————–
Beasley—————Adu——————Kljestan
————–Torres———Edu ——————-
Pearce—–Califf——–Orozco——-Hejduk
——————–Guzan—————————
For those of you keeping track, it’s the same exact formation and lineup I called on Sunday for this match, with the difference being Michael Orozco is in for Pablo Mastroeni, who is injured and stayed home.
Typo Ives, Pablo’s at home. Just wishful thinking on your part, I know you love being right on predictions. (Joking, keep up the good work.)
SWEET!! ME LIKEY A LOTTIE
Wynne for Hejduk
Torres is not a DM and I’m scared that all of this NT play there will be a waste of his talents.
Why would he put torres at dmid?
Why would he start orozco,califf, and edu…we don’t have a back up center def if two of those 3 get hurt.
This is the wrong formation to play with the guys he called in…i hope this isn’t the actual way they’re going to line up.
Looks nothing like the line up yoiu posted on the Facebook group today!!
;op
Enjoy the game eveyrone…
Dude, your lineup prediction abilities are consistently uncanny. Also, this one: I like.
Score predictions?
I say 2-1 US. Actually, I’m feeling real good, 3-1.
yep, love the lineup. let’s see some magic.
Lineup looks great!
this is a great lineup, should be really interesting.
yep love the lineup
This is a lineup I’ve been waiting 4 … I hope they do well!
i love this lineup. i’m assuming second half subs will be wynne davies and szetela.
very interesting…looks like we are lining up a lot of people we’ve been waiting to see for a long time…
where’s cooper!!! JK.
Hope this doesn’t turn out to be a double post:
Score predictions?
I say 2-1, 3-1 if I’m feeling good, and I’m feeling good.
Hey Jay, I’ll take 10-for-11 having picked the lineup on Sunday. It’s going to be a fun lineup to watch.
this is marked as USA vs. T&T
link to justin.tv
showing soem highlights right now, but hopefully will change to the game when it starts
Our front is going to rape and pillage the Trinidad and Tobago defense
Knock on wood
what channel is the game on????
Who’s on the bench?
This should be a high scoring affair – Califf and Orozco against a hungry, desperate T&T team at home. Guzano should be busy.
Fortunately, I think it looks like we can create a lot of offensive firepower with this lineup. Should be fun to watch.
Whats the T&T Lineup?
yep. ;love the lineup
Are there really that few people here? Or is typepad just clogged up at getting the comments posted? Or is it just my computer?
What does the bench look like?
Hey Beez is the captain!
This is the funniest rendition of the anthem I’ve ever heard.
Any links to streams of the game?
Ives, who is on the bench?
Ives, who is on the bench?
Should be plenty of action on the wings, for certain. I know Kljestan will want to impress European suitors, but I’m really looking forward to see how Torres and Beasley combine on the left.
Star Spangled Banner on steel drums…awesome. I like the lineup, and I’m excited to see Beasley in the captain’s role.
I wish Wynne got the start at RB, but definitely not a night to complain!
Ah, I’m glad we agree, Ives. The steel drums were a first for me as well.
Our attack is going to rape and pillage Trinidad’s defense
Knock on wood
2 godawful attempts to cross the ball by a wide open, unpressured Klejstan, so far. I thought he’s played the wing before, no? Is he normally this bad at crosses?
Seriously, what have they done with the real Bob Bradley?
nice touch pass by Adu
Another strange Klejstan turnover, drink. I generally like the guy but he has nights where he’s a human turnover.
What is Kljestan doing… he looks awful
US having troubled getting settled into possession. Lets ping around some passes and get our rhythm.
Is Perkins not on the bench? Isn’t it unusual to not have a goalie on the bench? So far we look a little disjointed.
US Looking shaky
Hey, this is eating my posts!!!
Come on US….looking sloopy.
Can we do better passes!?!?!?!
Sacha is much, much better in the center than on the wing. He’ll be a good sub at center mid.
im refreshing and matchtracking at work… does anyone know who is commentating the match on espn?
Better from the US. Adu hits a pretty nice ball, but man we need players who can hit a freekick, especially since we really depend on setpieces a lot.
Don’t like that Beas keeps feeling the need to come in to the center since we can’t keep possession.
not that many people on tonight, oh well cant blame them, game is pretty boring so far.
there is a problem posting…most not going through
No guys, people are commenting, I can see them all on the back end, they’re just not showing up on the page.
Good grief…this looks like a youth soccer game!
21st Minute: Worst minute in Heath Pearce’s soccer-playing career.
This Latapy fellow is pretty spry for a 40 year old
Oh my god…what happened there?
torres has made a few mistakes but you cant knock his effort, I like the kid
Guzan looking awfully shakey…as is Edu and the back line
Torres is a worker. He lost the ball and tracked the guy over 40 yards. Impressive
Blooooooooown caaaaaaaaaaalllllll (what else is new?)
Great look by Jozy there
Pretty shaky in the middle of the park so far tonight. It was to be expected, but I had hoped that Edu and Torres might establish a good understanding early on.
And Beasley was at least a half yard onside.
This is good experience for the younger guys. They look tight.
Cool, looks like we’re back!
I don’t like how central Beasley is drifting (since we can’t keep possession). It’s making the middle crowded. Much better at this moment…
yeesh, edu is having a hell of a bad time out there. touch just isn’t on.
Adu really gets blown off the ball a lot.
Dude how many balls has Edu turned over already…GGEEEEZZZZ!!!!
They have been pushing Adu around all night, at some point it should warrant a card
Time to start doing the drinking game. Everytime Edu turns the ball over it’s “Drink” time…made famous by JOSH WOLFF.
Ives, am in for the EDU turnover drinking game!
Beckster.
we think alike LOL
I’ll back Edu as the biggest disappointment so far, we need some stability badly.
ACTUALLY Ives also tought of it…GREAT minds think alike….
Kljestan. Wow. He is TERRIBLE tonight
Claudio Reyna back pass game circa 2005 was good too
Easy fellas….it’s Edu’s first game since a big signing in Europe. He will come back down to Earth.
DL, some of us, other than Ives, think Kljestan isn’t all that great ever, but especially weak tonight.
Now Beas is almost on the right touchline…
wow. drink.
Edu Turn over…DRINK
Man, Beasley is all over the place tonight. Granted, he can afford to do it tonight, without worrying too much about Pearce getting exposed. But its still nice to see him up and running at full speed the past two games.
Sacha just isn’t a winger. in the thick of things, he’s a good third sub as a center mid.
A moment of respect for our A Team and their ability to hold simple possession…
We might have to change the rules of the EDU drinking game or we’ll all be too drunk to watch the 2nd half. How about 1 drink for every 3 turnovers?
Sorry Man, I like Sacha, he can create for others. He is not a SOlid solid player but he is a good complemenatary player. He does not need to be a Star just give good passes which he does.
More nice touches from Adu, and a strong shot from Torres goes high. I can’t wait to see him put one on frame.
And I think Beas is drifting center trying just to keep simple possession and steady the team.
We loose width when he has to
I like Sacha too, just not as a starter on the wing for the USMNT.
Drink…sorry that was Orozco..heck with it..drink anyways.
I hope Edu settles down, because Torres is starting to push forward a bit more, and I want to see that continue.
Well after Edu’s 100th turnover, I am now officially drunk.
wow, has 40 mins gone already? no good chances yet on goal. Though, there should have been if not for that ghost offside call.
Is Klestjan wearing spikes tonight?
espn just went to HD, geez.
I don’t think it’s good for the team when Beas drifts into the center, we need him wide.
I think he’s doing it just trying to steady the midfield.
Ives…think you are on target tonight.
Nice, lets do the little things right and chances will come
Man…what is up with the slips? Is this field shoddy? It looks good…but these guys are slipping all over the place.
It seems like, so far, Klejstan has had no idea what Adu is going to do. It would be nice to see a bit more understanding between them, because they have played together before in these positions.
Although, to be fair, Peter is right. There has been a lot of slipping due to the pitch.
right on kswiss
is it me or are they all bunched up in about a twenty yard area?
End of 1st half:
The Good: Adu, Orozco, Beasley
The Bad: Guzan, Kljestan
The Coyotte Ugly: Edu, Pearce, the field
(SK and Adu) Klejstan does usually advance the ball and know where his runner is going to go
I think we need Davies’ pace to change things up.
Oddly, it is the heavily capped usmnt guys making most of the turnovers. It seems that every possession is being broken up by a gaffe by Edu, Beasley, Klejstan, or Hejduk. Very strange. Maybe it’s just a chemistry issue. The young guys have some familiarity w/ eachother, as do the vets but not both.
Jamaica 1 Hun. O
Not much too like from the first half besides Hejduk’s work rate (not crosses), Orozco at center back, Adu’s good touches, passes and turns (though he still needs to be much stronger on the ball). Jozy’s doing OK, hasn’t had much time on the ball. Torres has done good, not great. Everything/everone else? Eh.
thanks fo the commentary, ives. i don’t have cable and the game feed online isn’t working great.
fo rwhoever is wathcing, what’s up with sacha?
Oh and Beas is doing his best to keep possession and right the midfield.
Well Edu and Kljestan are rapidly proving they don’t belong. At least Edu can probably be attributed to being played out of position, when he should be a defender.
Again, I ask this board – what’s the hype about Kljestan? He’s simply average on a good night, and tonight’s he just atrocious. The kid offers up absolutely nothing to this squad.
Also, why are people so high on Guzan? Has he handled anything cleanly? He also appears dumbfounded on crosses.
Hopefully we’ll see Charlie Davies and Danny Szetela in the second half in place of Kljestan and Edu.
predictions on subs?
I would rather put a gun in my mouth than watch 45 more minutes of that garbage. I’m going to watch the Dynamo-Earthquakes game. Oh, I almost forgot…..FIRE BRADLEY!!
sacha is not average on a good night. he’s pretty good with nice touch. on a bad night though… it’s bad. i don’t think he is amazing,but he’s not as bad as some are making him out to be.
Ryan – Guzan is the best of the keepers younger than Howard. Sure we could play Hannaman or Keller, but that doesn’t really advance the program.
I’m disappointed so far, but remember he doesn’t get regular games as Friedel’s back up
I hope beas didn’t mess up his knee again.
Chile is about ot beat Argentina, 1-0, and has controlled much of the game, so no fluke there. Argentina missing Messi.
Speaking of bad fields, which this one has been just ROUGH (almost as bad as Edu tonight), the Can-Mex match is being played at a field where they play CFL games, and the lines and numbers are colored green, but that “55″ at midfield still looks really odd.
I think a lot of the problem is that this team is just a lot of players who have never played together. It looks like they don’t know what each other are doing.
That play deserved at least one change at half time, but PLEASE lets have one or two at 60 mins we don’t get better – Hey Now!
How was that called offsides? Should be 1-0 US.
Wow, another blown offside call.
Yeah, I hope Beasley didn’t re-aggravate his knee. I’d love to say we should take him off early just to protect him, but he’s been the unquestioned leader of the team in the first half. He’s really living up to the captain’s role tonight.
Ryan, Edu is a midfield who can play defender. Unfortunately, he is in position. Sacha is good in MLS. Has not shown he can play at international level. He needs to get to a faster overseas league to see if he can make the step up.
That makes two bad offside calls so far tonight…
Need to replace EDU with Davies and have two forwards. Altidore can’t do it all against a 4-6 man-hunkered down backline.
“Can someone tell the U.S. midfielders to play balls to Altidore’s feet because a 6-4 guy is marking him in the air.”
Good call, Ives. Adu is getting swallowed up in the middle sometimes, though, so it might have to be Beasley and Klejstan who step up and get this done. Or Torres, for that matter, like he did on the “offside” call.
And I don’t mean that Adu has been bad; quite the opposite, in fact. It’s just that T&T isn’t really giving him much opportunity to play it on the ground in front of Altidore.
Canada up 1-0 in the 18th.
I’d definitely like to see another speedster out there
I’m not usually one to complain about announcers…but man, Harkes is painful.
Worse, he’s managing to drag JP down a level too.
i love hedjuk’s work rate, but i hate it when he gets up in the attack. his crosses have never been his strong suit. no one will ever out-hussle him.
Adu and Altidore are like peanut butter and chocolate. They know right how to combine, I’m going to enjoy watching them play together for a long time.
WTF Kljestan
I don’t know Ives, you might enjoy Kljestan turnovers, bad crosses more than Frankie’s!
This just goes to show that as much as we like to make fun of Landy Cakes, he is without a doubt the engine that makes us go.
BRING IN PERKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just bad defense.
a bit unlucky for guzan
Hejduk and Kljestan are the two worst players on the field… what a terrible goal
I’m not kidding with this question: Is Klejstan color-blind? He just scanned the whole field, with no pressure and passed it right to a T&T player who had no one, and I mean no one within 10 feet of him. Seriously, is he color blind?
Some terrible angles and ball chasing from the midfield to lead to the goal
Shameful by Pearce, he just jogged with the guy and never made an attempt to take it from him. I hate when guys do that.
Which defender decided to break the offsides line and play the initial pass on?
Also, there are 9 starters missing, so it’s hard to pinpoint Donovan in particular.
subs might be nice – can we go 2 up top please?
Kljestan is awful tonight. He’s gotta go. And you looks terrible out on the right as well.
Oh man, off the post, off Guzan’s back, into the goal. T&T did a good job with that breakaway, but it was Edwards’ work and cross that really made it happen.
As I type, Latapy gets another chance and puts it wide. Our boys better wake up…
I don’t think it was Pearce’s fault too much – Edwards is quick. Someone needed to mark Latapy.
Is Bradley ever going to make any subs?
could we just mention one more time that Latapy is 40 years old?
God, our TV commentators are #$%&
SACHA, TURNOVER – DRINK!
So many people have been calling for the young guys, well this is what can happen. They are not controlling the ball, too many giveaways and we are not putting enough pressure on T&T.
I’m not getting all of the posts so I don’t know if this has been said yet, but if a T&T win means that the thugs from Guatamala go home for the next round, I hate to say it as much of a USMNT supporter as I am, but go Trinidad & Tobago.
Kjntans – I mean Kjlestan…BURP!
Wow, didn’t think about the lack of diving, but you are so right Ives. Cheers to T&T, that and steel drums make them a very likable team.
Maybe Michael Bradley isn’t as bad as everyone thinks, their is no toughness to this mid field. Edu is not getting it done.
so, who would everyone like to see subbed in/out?
dangerous look by Freddie
Anyone want to accuse Bradley of nepotism anymore or do you now realize how important Michael is to the team.
Hejduk is bad too. I would get Hejduk, Kljestan & maybe Pearce too. Drop Beasely to left back. Bring on Davies, Wynn, and somebody else.
Sacha turnover – DRINK Again.
Wynne for Frankie; Davies for EDU
Charlie might turn this game… by the way… I love Jozy but he is not all that fast, just because he is big and black does not mean he is a burner… IE Eddie Johnson
daviess for adu? 4-4-2 now.
I think Davies has one in him. He looked strong @ Olympics. 2 up top now.
Wynne for Hejduk, Davies for Kljestan, and Szetela for Edu
Adu coming out? You must be joking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
“You know what I like about Trinidad & Tobago? They don’t dive. It’s so much easier to watch a game when one team isn’t diving all over the place.”
You know, I’ve been thinking the same thing. I was gonna make the comment after the game, but every time I see T&T play, I gain a little more respect for them. No matter the competition or where they are, they come out and play soccer. Totally unlike Guatemala, who come out against us and play something so ugly I can’t even call it “soccer”.
Why Adu!?!
What?!?
SK looks like CRAP
Fire Bradley! and Drink 2 more for 2 more Sacha turnovers!
The wrong -du came out
At least that puts guys in better positions. But Adu has done well, the other guys we’ve been harping on all night? not so much.
Is Klejstan drunk tonight? He played very well the last 2 games. I don’t know what’s going on. this is #$#@$ing ridiculous. How is he still on the field and Adu is off?
sk needs new contacts or glasses. cant seem to see any teammates.
Well put NJ guy.
Adu was obviously too good. Let’s reward more crap play by Sacha Kljestan. Maybe if Adu played like crap, he would get more playing time.
40-yo Latapy!
DRINK!
Refs are starting to protect keepers like NFL QBs. FIFA needs to do something about it.
Who else do we have on bench?
Perhaps Bradley pronounces Edu and Adu like Max Bretos, and the wrong instructions were followed?
This is where the regulars could still score from set pieces – let’s see how the youngsters do
why was adu taken out?
These were Bradley’s options:
1) Davies for Edu and just have one holding mid and 2 up front for a real attack
2) Davies for SK and move Adu to right wing which he can play better than SK – not optimal but better than what happened
Wynne woulda been there
harkes pointing out the obvious regarding edu, poor passing.
It really is starting to look like Adu is not in Bradley’s plans. I mean there is no way he should have been the 1st sub in the 67th minute?!! Edu and Klejstan have been giving the ball away like crazy all game. I thought Adu has been the lone bright spot! I just don’t get what Bradley/Nowak are thinking.
Remember kids, the US should be able to walk right through this stage of qualifying even while playing the younger players. Keep that in mind.
Davies!!!
Charlie with the goal, Jozy with the work ethic.
GOAL. THANK YOU. And the sub gets it. Lucky bounce to keep it in the box.
Davies. All Altidore. Edu thanks for the rock touch.
Yes!
Wow! Yeoman effort by Jozy. Another absurdly poor touch by Edu.
Guatamala has tied Cuba. DAMMMNIIITTTTTT!!! I f$##$# hate Guatamala.
Goal USA.
This is bittersweet. I really want T&T to go through rather than Guat.
Awesome Jozy
hmmm. guess not. good touch, turn, and pass by Jozy.
that was all altidore… but great finish by davies
Marvell for Frankie now, please
Man Altidore was great thru that whole play, getting Beas’ back on the wing so the play wasn’t dead, then beating Edu to it and making the pass
Jozy proves he can do all that other stuff Ching does, too.
Jozy needs to start every US game from now on. Ching would not have picked up Beasley’s play on the wing, nor would he have gotten to that ball and made that pass.
Living on the edge!
WOW what a gift
Dumb Jozy, very Dumb
uh no
Never mind that – Ching wouldn’t hold a shirt in the box!
Worst thing Jozy has done in a US shirt.
Ah, Jozy, right in front of the ref. Crap.
T&T deserve to win this game for how bad the defense is playing tonight
It’s obvious that Jozy is much more comfortable with another forward up front. The way Bradley and Novak play the 4-5-1 leaves the lone forward too far away from any attack partners and plays him exclusively as a target which is old school tactics.
Jozy. Good lesson.
Obviously, this will sound like hindsight after the goal, but, whatever:
I didn’t like Adu having to come out, but like I said before, T&T was choking the middle of the pitch and limiting his effectiveness. Pulling Adu for a second forward (Davies) opened up the attacking third a bit, and we saw the results soon afterward. I wish Klejstan would have come out, but Adu couldn’t fill that RM spot.
Damn.
No, don’t bring on Davies…wait, what?
also about hou v sj- kamara out with a red. (12th min or so)
Califf is not impressing me at all, especially in the aerial game. Has he won a header all night?
That pk went through the net. Wow. Odd.
Let’s get another here…
Cuba has just stole one at the end. 2-1, Good night Chapines….
Wow. eaven sacha’s throwins are terrible. Adu wouldn’t have thrown that away, hahaha
Kljestan can’t even throw the ball in right tonight. Maybe too much partying in Trinidad.
40-yo Latapy!
DRINK!
Jozy looks pretty slow/sluggish tonight
Either he’s just growing into his grown man body or he needs some more playing time to get into Game Shape
This is bizarro team USA – no hope on set pieces, we need to do it in the run of play
Szetela coming in. Hopefully, praying for it to be for Kljestan.
Wow we should have gotten one of those headers in.
Jozy – oh!
(jinx almost worked!!!)
Oh! I thought for sure that was a goal! Not sure how Davies missed it. And then not sure how Jozy missed it!
Kenny Cooper would’ve netted a hat-trick tonight, PLUS stopped the PK!!!!
2 headers, neither on goal. wow.
Now that looked familiar.
best thing Sacha has done all night was that header in.
I didn’t see the first half. Impressions of Torres?
Torres was up and down. 1st half was awful all around, the US couldn’t connect the simplest passes.
Ives, if you are doing the player ratings for ESPN, theses are 4s and 5s with maybe a couple of 3s….right?
Ives – your out of beer? The state of NJ is out of beer
rolfe?
I’d love to see Hejduk come out for Rolfe, and go for broke with a 3-4-3.
Nice toe poke Frankie
Well, I guess Pearce accomplishes the same thing. I’m guessing Bob thinks Hedjuk’s experience will make him better in the 3 man defense than Pearce.
I hope the youngsters just need another game to mesh together, and don’t actually play this ugly
You take out Pearce instead of Hejduk because Pearce’s cover is a good defender in Beasley.
the only mixer I have left is baby formula – thinkin’ about it though
Szetela great ball.
Agh! Somebody be there! What a tempting ball to roll all the way thru
Better, fellas
A.S. i agree
Man we have no cohesion at all
baby formula sounds good, do it
Reggae Boys stay alive!
You know what, I want T&T to go through to thehex instead of Guat, so I’m not too upset by the result.
USMNT B-team = the not ready for prime time players
So Bad Playing or Bad Formation by the Coach?
A.S., per two of my previous posts, I wholeheartedly agree. F—– Guatemala.
i agree with jh. usa b team, not ready yet
Good thing the game ended before we all landed up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning
Time to start rooting for Canada….
But Adu and Altidore are ready for prime time!
Liked what I saw from Davies (speed AND touch), but not enough to make a call on Szetela
Fire Bob Bradley for playing the youth. There, I said it.
What a horribly called game. Those refs were terrible.
B team not ready yet. Good experience and lessons for our guys. Need to be ready every game. They were not sharp at all, and had some suspect marking in the box that cost us. Dumb fould by Jozy I hope he learns how these guys act in big games.
Gents… with Jamaicas massive win tonight… if Canada can steal a win against Mexico… it will be very likely that Honduras or Mexico will be eliminated and the money would be on El Tri to lose in Honduras on the last day… COME ON CANADA
I think there have been plenty of terribly ref’d games in USMNT history, but THAT is like the last of the shi-tty things that stood out to me tonight.
Look, some players played bad. But I don’t think you can be too harsh. This team doesn’t have any cohesion because the are all new guys, and the terrible field exacerbated the problem. There’s no reason to overreact. We should play this same team against Guat in Colorado and see if they are better after having playe together, and with a good field.
What did we learn?
– Wasn’t a bad formation. It’s just that this team that was put on the field didn’t have much understanding together and clearly were still figuring out how to play as one.
– And Sacha just isn’t a starting international player on the wing.
– Bradley thinks Adu is soft and shouldn’t play more than 65 minutes.
– Altidore needs to play with a second striker he can combine with.
– M. Bradley is the best center mid player in the pool.
– Orozco is better in the center than at full back.
– Torres looks like a keeper. (keeper not ‘keeper.)
– The best lineup could possibly be Jozy with a second striker. And maybe someone in the hole (Donovan? Dempsey? Adu?) in diamond midfield with M. Bradley as the other center mid. (OK, that’s just what I think.)
– Edu needs playing time with Rangers. Or needs to work harder and play better to get time with Rangers.
Andy in Atlanta, don’t tease me.
On the “Adu can’t play defense” argument to play him less – doesn’t the fact the he can actually keep possession counter balance some of his deficiencies there, he’s not starting breaks for the other team.
Yeah, I can’t be too upset about T&T most likely moving on to the Hex, and Guatemala staying home. Hopefully we can send Guatemala home the right way, blowing them out in Denver next month.
After Guatamala’s antics in central America, the boys should be plenty motivated to send them packing.
(2nd half of Can-Mex kicked off)
GOAL CANADA!!!!
GOAL CANADA!
GOAL Canada! Heee.
Goal Canada!!!
JH… the boys north of the border are trying real hard to tease you…..
Canada scores again!
Mexico’s failures are funner with Sven!
Wow – beautiful cross and great finish by Radzinski.
Question for those who know something about Canadian soccer – why doesn’t DeRosario play for them?
Man… Mexico could end up needing a result in Sn Pedro Sula…. that will be F ing awesome
Tomas Radszinksi. Man, if the Canadian FA ever gets it together Canada has some serious players and should be a force in CONCACAF> But we already knew that.
He does… just not when it is meaningless. He is their best player along with De Guzman
DeRosario is out for the match. Usually, he would play.
As old as Radzinski is… he had 14 goals in 21 games last year in the Greek super league… that is not bad at all.
thx
So is Hejduk done yet? What an embarrassing performance, Wynne should have got that start…
Who’s in goal for Canada? Nicely done, sir.
No reason for Marvell not to play tonight
much better game than US
Can anyone even comprehend what could be happening here… El Tri could get knocked out and not even make the hex if they lose tonight and then lose in Honduras with a Jamaica win over a Canada team that will likely send its B team to the islands….
Canada needs to attack more. They are just kicking back to Mexico and letting them come down every time.
I’d be surprised if Mex doesn’t score at least another goal. They’re applying a lot of pressure. That said, Canada doesn’t look half bad!
who would qualify out of Mexico’s group,if they go knocked out?
tnt escaped with a lucky win. personally, that PK was questionable only because I did not think that player would have reached the ball in the first place. Today was a good lesson for the youngsters to get good valuable time in
Overall I thought it was a decent performance with a bunch of inexperienced players. I do think the future is bright. My favorite part of the game was that i was between two teams that played hard and didn’t roll around on the ground like a lot of our other opponents in CONCACAF.
What I didn’t like was the typical referring that cost the USA to on one situations where the players were clear onside.
I would never play to lose, but it is way better that T & T won.
How about this for a dream, both Guatemala and Mexico have to spend the next 3 years playing friendlies because they were eliminated.
I think Honduras ahould move the game to Anchorage.
Bah! Goal Mexico
Jamaica and Honduras… but just as I typed that they scored to level it… COME ON CANADA. STEAL THIS ONE FROM THEM.
Cr*p. Hope I didn’t jinx it. Defender should have stayed with Dos Santos – gave him waaaay too much space.
Nice goal Mexico. I thought goalie should have had it though. Bad marking too.
Impressive by the Canadians 1 or no points at home. That is hard to do.
Can took for-freaking-ever to get back and mark. Good speed down the wing, and then good cross.
I actually thought Torres outplayed Edu and Kljestan tonight. I think I might like to see him starting beside Bradley in the future.
He did misplay the ball at times, but at his first camp with the team you can forgive that. I really liked the fact that every time he lost the ball he was up and fighting to get it back. He was involved and looking for the ball. The shot from distance was ‘eh’ but at least he tried something.
Next meaningful match I’d like to see this lineup:
———–Altidore——————-
—————-Donovan————-
—Beasley-Torres-Bradley-Dempsey—
-Pearce-Bocanegra-Gooch-Cherundolo-
—————Howard—————
Rdzinski looks good. Did anyone see that last turn. It was tremendous.
Now Canada is playing. THey should have done this up 2-1. Teams always pull this SH%%%.
And then Mexico looking great on the break. Good game! I wish US-T&T had a good pitch for their’s
Canada might want to think about marking Dos Santos now and then.
Canada’s best hope is to keep possession of the ball. Plus, a tie does them no good.
Man I wish DeRo were there, that guy is clutch.
Huh, question – when Canada played at T&T, did they play “Oh Canada” on steel drums? That would have been awesome!
This would be sweet for Mexico to win…I would love for those Bastards to be out of the next round…HAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHA
Torres aren’t you glad you choose the US over MEX?!!??!!!??!?!?!?!
Dos Santos took over the game.
Brazil-Columbia still scoreless in the 58th
So close! Who was that with the blast off the bar?
As the comentator said – ooooooh! What a blast off the bar.
Mexico looks bad….
I hope Colombia beats Brazil…
I tought Conde wanted to play for the US as a Defender….
Radzinski ate it.
Razinski Marica tienes que anotar..>NOJODA!!!!!
OMG. Radzinski, come on!
Canada looks tough. How are they last in their group. What is wrong with them.
Metele un GOLASO ah estos Mejicanos Hijeu#@$tas!!!!!!
Sorry my US roots came out in that expression.
This game deserves a winning goal, and I don’t mind if it comes from Mexico. In a way, I’d feel cheated if we went thru qualifying without playing them at Estadio Azteca.
THAT WAS NOT OFFSIDES….
Nah I Could go without going through Estatido Azteca..I would love it if they don’t qualify…
I’m happy for T&T. I want to see them go through to the next round. As long as we take care of business in Colorado, T&T is through!
Alejandro Moreno scored the go-ahead goal for Venezuela vs Ecuador
Oh. no. Mex is going to win on the last kick?
That would be a no…
Whew. Too bad Canada couldn’t pull out a win. I guess it’s theoretically possible that Mex doesn’t qualify, but looks pretty unlikely.
Love it…Mexico having to win their last game….hahaha
I’ve got a grainy feed of Bra-Col, still 0-0 in the 90th. Columbia actually looking more likely to steal this one. Dangerous Brazil free kick though…
Scoreboard says Holden scored his 2nd of the game to put Houston up 2-1 90th
Brazil knocked it into the wall. Columbia then has their 3rd good look int he last 4 mins, but hasn’t put one on frame.
Then attempt 4 sails 10 ft over the goal…
Kljestan was AWFUL tonight; I don’t know why Bob stuck with him so long.
Adu played decent. The US should be starting two forwards so that we can test younger players that should be on the top squad… From tonight I would invite Adu, Altidore and Davies. I’d need to see Edu again.
This game deserves a winning goal, and I don’t mind if it comes from Mexico. In a way, I’d feel cheated if we went thru qualifying without playing them at Estadio Azteca.
Posted by: eric | October 15, 2008 at 10:50 PM
___________________________________________
As much as I dislike El Tri on a level, I think we need them in the next round. They are the highest quality opposition in the region and our rivalry is mutually beneficial. Each of us raise our game when we play the other, and if not for them, international friendlies would provide the only opportunity for class opposition in our preparation for the World Cup.
Canada was so close, hit the bar and slipped a 1 v 1 just past the post… Mexico deserved a hot sticky tense night in the Central American jungle, DAMN IT
Repeat after me:
We’re sorry Bob for criticizing your team selection for the first four matches. You were right and we were wrong. The kids aren’t ready. Freddy isn’t hard enough for away qualifiers. Even if Jozy is 19 we can’t afford childish mistakes like that in games that count. We beg for your forgiveness and ask you to please continue to ignore us. For all our own good.
While the young team did not play well tonight, criticizing them too much isn’t logical. This is a team that has never played together in a meaningful game, and some of the players have known each other less than two weeks. Organization and chemistry are as important as talent. I wouldn’t take what you saw from the US too critically in this game, especially since the US barely beat Cuba in Cuba with the full team, and Trinidad is much better than Cuba.
(This being said, those critiquing the individual performances in the game are right on, but those making big statements based on the performance probably aren’t).
1. I don’t know of anyone who suggested that tonight’s lineup was the lineup we should have used all along, so saying this proves playing youngsters in WCQs is a “bad idea” is simply wrong. I still say Altidore, Cooper, and Adu are good enough to be called up for any qualifier. Should they all start? Probably not. But I could identify three players in most 23-man rosters that they could do better than.
2. I still think too much is made of road qualifiers in CONCACAF. In the 2006 cycle, the home team won about 49% of the time. MLS this season (as of two weeks ago), the home team won 51% of the time. Why aren’t we talking more about the extreme difficulty of away MLS matches?
Yes, it’s harder to play on the road, but is anyone REALLY denying the existence of home-field advantage? Yeah, there were people who overreacted to 1-0 results, but I think, for the most part, American fans were just calling ugly performances what they were. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Sorry guys – I’ve been supporting Adu strongly since Spain, but I thought he was AWFUL tonight. Ask yourself this question: if Adu had a good game, why did Altidore have to drop back to get balls, Beasley drop to center to help stabilize, and the team get better when Bradley pulled him for Davies? Answer – because he absolutely stunk. I am officially off the “Adu as a key piece in 2010 bandwagon.”
Other thoughts:
- Klejstan can hold the ball a bit, and plays terrific through balls (and that’s it); when you put him on the wing, he can do neither and you get nights like this.
- Altidore & Orozco impressed me a ton tonight; hands down the 2 best players on the field (though Jozy should know better than to take that penalty)
- Maybe now people can show some respect for Bradley’s lineup, and the A team for their accomplishments in qualifying so far. Nice to see the kids, and I enjoyed this, but obviously only a couple are ready for prime time.
Demrit and Conrad should be ahead of Califf in the depth chart.
.
To elaborate on point #1–can someone please point me to the post in which people are calling for an “A-team” that includes Guzan, Califf, Hejduk, Kljestan, and Torres? They’re all good players (well…I could do without Hejduk), but why are people making it out like this was the dream lineup of those calling for younger players? Let’s stick to the individuals in question here. Jozy was good. I think he’s good enough to start for the US. Adu was fine. I think he’d be a suitable sub in any qualifier. Cooper obviously didn’t play, but I think he’s good enough to be on the US bench.
Kebzach, my old friend. It ain’t worth your time. The masses will never be converted and/or they won’t realize they’re being irrational.
Altidore misses a gift header and he’s complimented all over the thread. Ching misses one, or something similar and he’s vilified.
You guys got what you wanted, and a lousy result to boot. I hope this same team plays against Guatemala, and I hope we kick their ass, but, please, please, stop with the Altidore is the second coming stuff. He may be the future, but the future ain’t necessarily now.
I don’t know where all the praise for Adu is coming from. He was pretty nonexistant. Yeah, when he got the ball, his dribbling that one time was nice, but it amounted to nothing. He was overwhelmed. He didn’t get the attack going at all. I’d have subbed him too.
Edu had an extremely bad game.
The guy that impressed me the most was Danny Szetela. I wish he’d have gotten more game. I’d have taken out Adu, moved Torres up to his spot, and then put Szetela in there in Torres spot. Szetela’s passes were quick and sharp. He brought energy. He did well.
Silly Ives,
I think you know well enough that people were only calling for an all young team for this match because it didn’t matter to anyone but T&T. Many fans have been calling for a MIX of youth and veteran for the previous important matches so that the players that will be relevant for the world cup will have experience playing together and have experience in bigger games. I don’t think anyone would have wanted to send out all the youths without Donovan, Dempsey, Dolo, Onyewu and Bocanegra in the games that mattered and I don’t think anyone was calling for that to happen, though I may have missed it.
listen guys, lets not get too down on the outcome and performance… yes, the game was ugly and had a few glances towards greatness, but clearly the playeres were inexperienced in playing together… not to mention it was an away game with a very loud atmosphere….
let us not forget the sideline refs called 2 offsides that were not offsides (which could have easily resulted in goals) and the ref missed a blantant PK…
that being said, i think ALL of the players could play with the A-squad…
Jozy- caused the 2nd goal, but is clearly capable of playing up top… unfortunately BB played him as a solo forward (despite Adu playing just behind him) and Jozy is NOT a target forward…. he needs someone to run off of…
adu- ive been saying it for MONTHS, this kid is capable of playing against the best teams in the world… games like Spain, Arg. and Netherlands where he has more time to turn the ball and the defenders are not dry humping his legs… HOWEVER, i have been saying for MONTHS that he is not capable of playing against the low or physical teams in the world… he get pushed and shoved off the ball and he is incapable of playing quality against them… teams like Japan, Guat, T&T etc….
torres & orozco- bright spots on the team… quality play
hejduk- terrible terrible terrible game…
califf- too slow
kljestan and Beasley- flashes of quality, yet poorly played all game…
Aquaman – there were NUMEROUS posts about the USMN playing primarily a youth squad against the likes of Cuba, b/c in their words “they’re just cuba”….
i think a LARGE number of people were expecting a win despite the youthful side… i expected a tough match with no real consistancy…. some quality flashes and even more less quality play…
Then I retract my statement and replace it with: playing any sort of meaningful game without the likes of our known commodities is always a dumb choice. It would be nice to eventually get some youth players with the veterans to get them to gel and to stop throwing some vets out there simply because they’re more experienced (but not necessarily more skilled).
I was disappointed by the result, but I expected too much thinking the US would win. The B-teamers need more playing time together. I’m glad Coach Bradley gave so many young guys a chance in this game. I’d love to see the B-team against Guatemala, but I hope the US ties that game. I’d prefer to see T&T go through to the next round.
mabe now we could fully appreciate the tough play of Michael Bradley in the midfield. it has nothing to do with nepotism he’s just a strong, capable, knowledgeable athlete who makes good passing and defense a strong point of our midfield. it certainly wasn’t visible tonite!
Seriously, when have the supporters of the youth been calling for Hejduk, Califf, Torres, and Kljestan starts?
If someone can tell me with a straight face that Bradley was right to keep calling in EJ instead of Altidore or Cooper, I’ll give it to you–we supporters of the youth are wrong.
But come on. Saying this game proves young players shouldn’t play in qualifiers is no more reasonable than saying the loss proves Beasley, Hejduk, and Califf are washed up–this game proves that “experienced” players can’t hack it!
Mike Caramba – lol i dont think anyone said that young players shouldnt play in Quals… simply having too many youth players is a receipt for inexperienced mistakes…
i think many people were hoping for Kljestan and torres to start and play… as for Hejduk and califf, i agree i would have prefered neither there…
Adu plays small. Thats fine if there is space for his style of play but that does not happen very often. Torres at 5-5 is simply tougher and more willing to get stuck in.
I did not expect a win. Its good BB is playing the youngers. Too bad Rogers was not available.
Brokenbil – the good news is with T&T getting the win and Guat getting the loss, all T&T has to do to move to the hexs is not LOSE TO CUBA…. with a win or a tie, T&T move on…. if US beats or ties Guat then T&T moves on
only way T&T doesnt move on is if the US loses to Guat and T&T loses to Cuba
Brett:
I wasn’t talking about last night’s game–yes, a lot of people would have liked to see Kljestan and Torres start there.
My point is, a number of people are saying “you got what you wanted, and you were wrong.” No one said last night’s squad should be our A team. When people were calling for youth, they were calling for a few, very specific players, to be included in the rosters and not even necessarily start. Best example: Jozy/Cooper for EJ. It seems completely reasonable to me and last night’s match didn’t prove anything to the contrary.
Tom R – I’ll attribute Torres’ toughness to the fact that he’s a Texan…but that’s just because I’m a Texan also.
This game gave me the worst hangover
Bad outcome but good experience. You can’t win a world cup in just one qualifier…let’s hope it was a great learning experience and something to build on.
Bad outcome but good experience. You can’t win a world cup in just one qualifier…let’s hope it was a great learning experience and something to build on.