The U.S. men's national team has a chance for revenge and a chance for a place in the 2011 Gold Cup Final tonight when it takes on Panama in the first of two semifinal matches at Reliant Stadium in Houston (7pm, Fox Soccer Channel).
The United States is riding high off an impressive 2-0 win against Jamaica in the quarters, and faces a fatigued but confident Panama side that needed penalty kicks to edge El Salvador in its quarterfinal match.
SBI will be providing live commentary on tonight's match so please free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):
Come on USA, payback time!
Wooohoooo!
Let’s go USA!!! I predict a 3-1 victory.
Why isn’t Donovan starting? He’s coming on as a sub? Is he sick/hurt?
Game time! Holy empty seats. Guess most fans will be there for Mex – Honduras
Let’s finish this time. I’m looking at you, Deuce. No showboating, just put it through the back of the net.
“Bob Bradley going with the ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ starting lineup.”
Same as Wilmer Cabrera?
when will we ever get true home field advantage? Damn.
Donovan not starting?????!!?!?! I really hope that there is a very good explanation for this. If not, BB is walking a tight rope with that decision.
Amazing how empty the stadium is for this kickoff. I imagine it will be full (of green shirts) by the end of the game. Oh well. Vamos Yanks!!!
Good corner win frm juan
Seemed like a phantom call in box against USS
Oops usa
I want Lichaj to get more touches if only to hear the Univision announcer say his name again.
Shaky touches there from bedoya and sacha
Terrible call against juan. Punished for being strong and aggressive while diving is rewawrded. No wonder everyone dives.
Stuck at airport any place I can watch on web
univision.com
Good to see the US not give up a strong early chance at goal, for a change.
Bedoya getting clear push but no call. Ref making me nervous.
Good lord Sacha beter be out at half or soon thereafter. If he isn’t losing the ball or misjudging it in the final third (both today and v. Jamaica) he’s sending a back pass every, single time.
At least Bedoya is showing a little cojones and taking some chances every now and then
+1
Sooooo close. Good idea. Juan read play a tiny bit too late.
Sacha not strong on the ball. Too long and skinny.
Deuce has really improved his touch
Definitely not… but it kills me when we have a nice move going and he goofs it or just completely is out of place for the pass
USA too wasteful right now, impatient, optimistic, passes. Trust the build up.
Sasha is absolutely horrible!!! The man is clueless!!!! Where are the Sasha fan trolls at?! Are u guys watching? The man sucks!!! No one told me this, I am a witness!
That’s the one thing that gets a bit old with Deuce on the 35 yard efforts…. but then we wouldn’t have England or many of his other great goals
great chance for Agudelo. unlucky
Foul on agudelo for being run over.
i’m going to drink everytime someone posts a comment to the effect of “where are all the ____ fans/haters, ____ clearly sucks/is imperious!”
haha! Howard and Tejada go nose to nose. Don’t mess with Timmy!
Should be yellow on tejada. Making trouble
Guys, I’m currently in Seville, Spain right now, and none of the bars here have the game. Where can I stream it? Neither univision or the CONCACAF website work because I am outside of North America. Much appreciated!
Bedoya should have done better with that
Every time the ball is in the air in the USA offensive box, ref automatically blows whistle for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!
If they ever make a movie on the Gold Cup, they have to have Samuel L Jackson play Dely Valdez.
Jones MUST do better with that shot. Complete muff job from very dangerous spot.
Ref is Surniamese…a small country in South America….WTH is he refing a CONCACAF game? And not real good…go figure…linesmen are from Canada and Costa Rica…
Bad call on yellow to Panama. Calls evening out? Lot of phantom calls. This couuld turn into a dive fest.
Bedoya with another fabulous dive that draws a card…..disgusting
Once again, finishing is the problem tonight.
Bradley with a howler of a turnover, fighting his own man for the ball.
concacaf website should havve it
+1
klejstan brutal
He is just a bad soccer player, no business being on this team, nonetheless starting.
Do what ever makes you horny. Stop posting useless comments. If your going to defend Sasha’s performance please humor me, otherwise save the witty humor for bigsoccer.
The man sucks!
Awful play by goodson. He had no chance at getting to that ball first, sprinted for it and took himself out of position, then dragged his man down, almost in the box. Shambolic.
Because that small country in South America is a Concacaf member and within Concacaf, Surinam is decently ranked.
I hope everyone who wanted to prove me wrong about Sasha comes to light. Sasha is lazy uncreative, every PASS HE MAKES IS BACWARDS!!!!! He is a BACKWARDS PASSER! He is scared and doesn’t have the ability to go forward. Eat it Sasha fans. Let’s see how these clowns justify Sasha’s performance today.lol … He will probably make one ok pass, and his 90% of garbage performance goes out the window.lol The man is GARBAGE. Good for his team, not good at all in a U.S jersey.
This game is also proving that BOB doesn’t know how to start against a team. Everytime we counter attack no one comes forward, it seems that they are to worried trying to defend the 50yd line. Unbelievable. This is Panama for god sake.
It’s Donovan time. Hopefully BB pulls the trigger.
Yes, terrible decision that almost cost us.
Pretty even first half, with maybe a slight advantage to the US. Frankly, neither side looks all that sharp. I think LD will come in pretty early in the next half. Also, I’d like to see Dempsey play up top with Agudelo.
That makes sence considering his good performances for the US lately. Disregarding my sarcasm for minute… He isn’t having a great game, I’d like to see Donovan subbed on for him in that role.
Decently ranked? Really? Are you serious?
They are not even ranked in the FIFA Top 200….
Forgive Didier, he does not read English well.
If you’re in Spain, try Roja Directa
link to rojadirecta.es
im in venice italy, watching on one of the channels on justin dot tv (not typed like that obviously)
Good 1st half from Bedoya–he’s a breath of fresh air. On the flip side Kljestan offers nothing but a hole. He’s always a gear too slow, a step too late. If he was some kind of great offensive passer that’d be great, but he just appears to me to be a very average player. Put on Edu or Donovan.
He has not played well….seems out of synch to me as well.
Donovan for Sasha at 60(let Sasha go in and kick a few shins to start)…course I said that last game as well
Go to myp2p. The Fox Soccer stream is there. I’m watching it.
justin.tv or myp2p.eu
I said within Concacaf. Within Concacaf they are ranked 15th. Overall they are ranked 112. But they have enough regional ranking to have a ref represent them if he is good enough.
I thought Bedoya was quite average.
Fox commentator Sullivan, said US played a great half. I disagree. Lines are two far apart so passing on attack is sloppy and late. Long balls into the center are almost always won by Baloy. It appears that an error will produce first goal as both sides are too stretched to attack with precision.
LeeeeeHiiiieee!
Classic Pablo Ramirez.
Well, he has good speed, pressed on defense and made energetic runs forward.
I agree. Not a “great half” by far.
Nice, I was right… Donovan could be good here against Mexico
So they’re basically playing a 4-4-2 w deuce and juan up front, yes?
Yes, not nearly as crisp as the jamaica game.
red card soon enough
That sub should have been made after the first 5 minutes.
Lichaj trapped twice in a row against 2 and manages to nicely defuse. Can’t keep happening though, he needs support over there
It’s called Columbus, OH!!!
That’s about it.
15th…really…thats a joke…
Tell me the last time they played in a Gold Cup?
US dodges a bullet. That really should have been a goal for Panama
Freddie is up!!??
I just heard them say Freddy Adu. I can’t stand him but that was two years ago. The guy is a nightmare.
I hope he proves me very, very wrong.
He must be impressing in training. Ballsy move by bob.
shocking to see Adu might come in. who does Freddy come in for? Jones?
Come on Freddy – be a hero!!!
Adu! We’ve got to win now…
Let’s see if the Greek 2nd league has him prepared for this level.
Move ball faster!!
Adu time: 65 mins.
Always gotta love the 4-6-0 formation…
So is deuce a lone forward in a 4-5-1 w freddie in the middle?
Poor decision by adu, but good effort on d. Showing more d effort than we’ve ever seen from jimmer… Er freddie
Adu to Pachuca 2011!!!!
Adu to Pachuca 2011!!! its true…really… but he has to score the winning goal today.
LOL
Captain america looking more like the invisible man tonight.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
15th. So what? There are 12 Concacaf teams in this Cup. Where else are the refs going to come from? Cuba? Guadaloupe? Grenada? They are all ranked lower. And it’s 15th out of 35.
OK I am awake now
Freddie, Landon, and Deuce!
Freddy Adu with the great hockey assist.
YEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! lovely ball movement from Freddy to Landon to Deuce. GOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!
Tell me the last time they played in a Gold Cup….serious question…
Adu Adid it with that nice pass
What a ball by Adu.
Thank you, Freddy. Great searching pass to Landon.
I take it all back.
No, Adu to the Galaxy…What a combo!
Yes…that just might seal it for the USA…
People bagging on Donovan and Dempsey this past week can SUCK IT. You know who you are.
OMG: first Klestjan and then Adu!
And BB making successful personnel calls!!!
And Lichaj has had another fine night.
Adu to LA!!!
“Adu Adid it” should be a T-shirt. I just googled it, it doesn’t seem to be yet
Finally! Does Freddy Adu look like he might make a difference for our team now?
(vindication is sweet)
Agudelo tweeted from the bench..
That’s one thing i do love about Bradley. No other past US manager would have had the balls to make that Adu sub. Give the man his props. Not a genius, perhaps, but balls of steel.
I’m looking forward to Hush’s comments in the wake of Freddy Adu’s moment of brilliance.
Would someone please REALLY hit #18 in the eye?
Freddy BABY!!!
+ 1. if he can learn to use his left foot, he’s a fixture for a near decade.
Love that Dempsey gives Donovan the credit for that cross.
Not sure what game this ref is watching.
He’s got to. That was a cross Wee Xavi himself would have been proud to make.
Donovan would never do that!!! He would point at the back of his jersey and look to the crowd. Good player but a selfish prick. GO DEMPSEY!!!
Bob Bradley has some balls and seems like he is getting better at coaching.
uggghh shoot it MB
Freddy with another great set-up for Bradley.
Freddy looking good again. MB90 should have blasted it.
What a play by Freddie! Bradley ruins it. He’s not having one of his better games. Ugh, another turnover. I take it back. He’s having a flat out BAD game. He’s not reading the field like he usually does. He seems slow.
one more
See how much nicer the ball moves when Freddy Adu is in the game?
Slow to make decisions, not physically slow.
Say what you will about Clint and how he normally performs with the Nats, he’s been playing well and putting forth max effort for the full 90.
What a dribble by Freddy Adu, the boy is skilled, i am very impressed with his ability to split defenders especially on the wing to open up the field and spread out the back line.
Wow US will need to pick it up in the next game. Can’t play like this and beat Mexico (if they go through)…
panama is indeed one of the best teams in concacaf. They have beaten all there south american opponets in friendlies only being overshadow by argentina and brasil.
Seems like we’ve been playing down to our opponents’ level the entire tournament aside from a half against Canada and another half v Jamaica
I hate it when we do this, we just sit back and invite pressure instead of continuing to play the style that has us winning. It baffles me sometimes.
I’ll take the win. But fire Bob anyway for starting Sacha!
All the trolls on here bashing Freddy for the last three years better be back to give him some credit tonight…And I am one that is here to do that haha
Give it a rest.
Yes, the only player USA has like this. This why he should be getting more minutes to prove himself. Torres and Holden are good players also, but they don’t have his creativity.
Have to say the coach made all the right changes at the right moments today. Glad to see him finally reward Adu with a game chance, and Freddy paid him back.
I’ve been saying he should play for the longest time now, he’s on of our only skilled players on the ball.
yeah baby! Rose Bowl here we come. I’m going to the Final. wooohooooo! vamos USA!!!
Freddy played well in his short time adding some creativity. He definitely was a spark for sure.
Adu: Time to make you look foolish.
Freddy Adu was actually really good tonight.
Freddy Adu that is.
Freddy also made just the right touch passes in space. He kept things rolling. Very mature performance.
I have 2 tickets for the final….:)
Gritty performace against a team that wanted to bunker down for 90 minutes….kudos to Adu & Donovan for bringing some spark….
And I’ll say it again Bob bradley done good…
MOTM – FREDDY ADU!!!
Not one of his best games. But he caused quite a few turnovers by the Panamanians, and had a couple of nice tackles
Adu created the play and Donovan with a great pass. Soooo, where is this Adu haters who said he doesn’t bring crap to the team?lol He created space for our team on offense which was invisible… Sasha is a joke and doesn’t bring anything to our team,Adu was the spark and prefer him over any MLS BUM. Wondo out Adu in.
TE lo dije!!
Not a good game from USA tonight. Much better performance against Jamaica. Panama always makes for an ugly match, but i still think the passing was just not crisp enough. MB and Bedoya in particular seemed to hold on to the ball a tich too long every time. The runs off the ball were also not energetic or consistent enough.
Despite that, a very promising turn by Freddie who came in and changed the whole flow of the US attack. More good turns from Cherundolo, Lichaj, Boca, and Deuce. Agudelo also did some nice work out there. Have to give credit for one great play from Landon to save his night.
And his team’s
Best substitution Bradley has made putting in Adu. Perfect guy to help unlock a bunker. He looked nervous and made some mistakes, but he did make that initial crucial pass.
Euro-bum!
I guess the glass slippers did not fit tonight for Panama
Bradley needs to go!!!! I forgot to add that. He is clueless on how to start a game. If we always are going to have to go to plan B in 90% of our games, that is a joke for someone who is coaching a supposedly a top 20 team. Not acceptable.
It took him 4 games to figure out ADU was needed! Yet he preferred Rogers,Sasha, and Wondo over him. He needs to go this year.
Just hope Honduras wins…
Freddy had a great game. Congrats to him. He still tries to do a little too much, but it didn’t come back to bite him today.
And it’s amusing how quickly the Bradley lovefest has already begun. We’re all just goldfish.
And the best part? Jones can be NASTY in the final. His yellow card doesn’t matter now.
Chicharito. Say hello to our little friend.
Ok, that post-game interview with Adu should change some perceptions too. Very mature, humble, gracious for the opportunity and supportive of the team.
Good on him. Hope he keeps ignoring the crap.
This. Is the best comment!
Very impressed with Freddie Adu’s post game interview….he looks like he has matured and grownup….its been a tough road for him…and a tough learning experience…looks like he might finally have gotten it….:) Better yet only 21…
And here is an Adu-hater.lol Donovan-Adu made created the goal,.. sooooo I’m guessing your uterus is feeling a bit sad he actually proved you wrong?lol I hope your a Mex fan and not a U.S fan.
Wondo is the beter scorer…Adu should be in the midfield, not Forward, Eurobum!
If Adu has been doing this in practice, how come Bradley waited until now to put him in a game? After that performance, I’m all for Adu starting between Dempsey and Donovan behind Agudelo against Mexico (assuming they beat Honduras).
I called Freddy Adu last week after we lost against these guys. Glad to see it made its way down the grape vine to Bob.
+1000. Absolutely brilliant curler, just in front of the Panamanian defender for Donovan to run onto. And that’s exactly what they needed: someone with vision and creativity in the center of the pitch.
And kudos to Bradley for realizing that with Panama closing down options and our CMs unable to really operate, Adu might be able to generate the one opening we need. His substitutions were on the money tonight.
And if he’d only done it 5 years ago, he might have been playing in the World Cup beside his friend Jozy instead of watching it.
Marcel Balboa and Hugo Sanchez sitting next to each other opining… this is kind of hilarious. Balboa is actually pretty decent in Spanish though.
um, way to soon to be a starter – that would be a bad coaching decision. Give him some more minutes as a sub getting used to the team.
Did he admit that he’s useless?
You don’t know Donovan, uninformed slug.
And what, you knew Adu should have been in from the start of the tournament, genius? You are the perfect example of why Bradley haters are so ridiculous. The guy makes a brilliant tactical change, and you kill him because he didn’t do it sooner. Absolutely absurd.
coulda had another (maybe) if bradley pulls the trigger
Why did Benny Feilhaber make it over Bedoya? Why did Bedoya have to start on the bench so we could confirm how bad Rogers is? Why did we sit Agudelo so we could confirm how bad Wondolowski is? Who thought Kljestan over Donovan was a good idea? Why did Gooch come in as a starter despite not being close to international form?
Starting Adu might be premature, but at this point I think it’s worth a try. We don’t have enough daring in the final third right now.
For starting a guy who had been excellent every minute he played in the tournament before today? Right. Terrible idea.
LOL You know it maaaannn! Chris Tucker voice.
Hey, I know my Futbol A-lott. If we were all Argetinos or Brazilians, than Adu is not an option. But the fact is, we are a U.S team lacking creativity. All we need is player who can create 2-4 chances rather than having a player waste a spot on the starting 11 running around the 50yd line playing scared to go forward. We need chances so that we can score. Rogers,Sasha,and Wondo don’t offer that. Plain and simple. Like I said, we are the U.S, we don’t have many options, so we must work what we have, and Adu is a talented player who would start in the Mexican team.
Gio
Vela
Salcido
Juarez
Barrera all bench warmers. At least Adu sees some time.
Hipster.
I’m not quite sure, and ill check later in the highlights…
But although Adu had a GREAT pass to Donovan, did it seem like he could have chipped a pass down the middle of the field to put Dempsey (I think) on goal?
That pretty much is our style though. We scored on a counter, which is how we score a lot of our goals.
Right, point taken. Of all of the bad decisions Bob has made…
He was playing very well for most of the game, but hit a real wall with about 20 minutes to go. I hope he’s ready to go in the final.
I think Ives should post Adu’s picture tonight with a one word article: “Comments?” This board might explode… Seriously, I don’t think we had any idea what to expect from him (including his very participation as a key sub in a semifinal), but Adu was just short of fabulous in his time tonight, and not just on that seeing eye pass to Donovan. If he’s got his head on right, his story is clearly just starting. As for our coach, he’s pulled the right strings so far (or at least not pulled the wrong ones). He’ll have some more interesting decisions to make for the final (thankfully Jones was uncarded tonight). Now, if Luis Fabiano is Fabuloso, is Adu Faduloso?
Freddy was impressive.. He kept possession well, played excellent through balls, and showed some nice skill.. That ball to Landon was Xavi-like! Offers much more than Klesjtan. Gotta go with him vs. mexico if we want to have any chance of playing our new possession ball style!
haha.
And it was so quiet at Camp USA – he wasn’t even really in any of the videos, aside from a few shots in the background.
right here lol… had a point though thats why donovan starts in the bench
Freddy was unlucky not to set up 2 gols. MB needed to pull the trigger but it was all Freddy who set that up.
Arena was there for 8 years and Bradley since. You make it sound like a long list of past managers had that choice.
Stu will be around for commentary during the final – excellent.
Was he tonight clown?! Learn the game before speaking. Adu was playing behind Donovan. What game were you watching? Adu playing behind Agudelo, instead of Wondo up front and Agudelo behind him. That is what I meant. Damn, do I always have to be specific when talking about a player being integrated into the lineup on how it should be utilize. If your a futbolero is your job to have some common sense. You are welcome for the lesson, mi hueco!
Wondo is a better scorer?LOL MLS material. He didn’t show anything in this cup. Yet Adu sees 20+ minutes and out shines him in less minutes played. ooook buddy! Your opinion is useless like Sasha’s, so I’m done with you. God bless.:)
Dude, let it go. If your happy about a coach who takes too long to figure out he is missing some elements and strategy in his game planning, then all power to you. Not acceptable to me.
You BOB fans are hilarious. The man has been horrible. We barely beat a Panamanian team for god sake. Get off the Bob wagon guy, is 2011. It’s going to be ok if you think differently. Wow…
Yeah… sorry, but that’s mostly nonsensical. Bob isn’t lacking in “elements and strategy”. He’s lacking in talented players. There’s not a whole lot you can do tactically with this bunch, which doesn’t move off the ball at all and always insists on taking a few touches before passing. But anyway, the idea that he deserves criticism for not putting Adu in sooner is insane. Every coach Adu has ever played for in his professional career has decided that he doesn’t merit a substantial role. Today – in this particular game, with Panama playing tough and not giving us any space – Bob decided that Adu was our best chance to unlock the defense. It was an enlightened choice. It represented thinking outside the box – as reflected by the consternation on this and other boards as soon as Adu got up. Anyone not giving him credit for this is, again, insane. And bringing in Adu earlier wouldn’t necessarily have made sense anyway. He would have been far less useful in the Jamaica match for example, when they gave us so much space that Kljestan was able to be an offensive creator.
Bob hasn’t been horrible. He’s had his ups and downs. Today, he coached a very good game. That Panamanian team was very tough defensively. Never looked much like they were going to score, aside from that one chance late in the game, but very physical and very quick to close down space. We’re no offensive juggernaut. There was almost no creativity on the field today (before Adu was inserted). Bob did a great job squeezing a win out of that one.
And don’t forget El Buenhijo…
Nope, I want to see us beat Mexico
Why did n’t Mexico do their usual Nazi-like salute during the anthem?
Better than that, according to my wife and son (both native speakers of the language). They just note his Argentine accent (due to his family background).
It’s been good to see him in a different setting, doing this tournament.
Oh please…
Oh yeah, I was just talking about the quality of his commentary, which actually seemed slightly better than it is in English. His Spanish skills are totally fine, with a slight Argentine accent, and of course the purely American pronunciation of American names. I thought he was decent, not great, in English, but he does seem better suited to this setting.
Does anyone know who’s on a yellow for Mexico?
HAHA that’s true I remember when the US had the Nazi salute during the anthem. I wonder why the US dropped, must of felt guilty for some reason…
At least SBI Troll is upfront about his intentions. Freddy says hi.
Mexico should have scored 10 minutes ago. Now they have to finish the overtimes. Honduras is just warnout. Honduras should have been awarded a penalty and won. Oh well, the U.S. is going to kick mexico’s as*
warn out
A couple of notes from the stands….
This was my second Gold Cup match, the first being the final in 98 vs. Mexico in LA Colosseum. We sat in the section next to the America Outlaws, so we got plenty of the smoke bombs
. Although the crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Mexico, it was less lopsided than it was in LA in 98 (back then more than 90/10, this time I would guess 75/15, with the rest being Honduran fans (no Panamanians to speak of)).
Yes, not all the Mexican fans were there at kickoff. I’m sure the 6pm start time didn’t help (we made it to our seats just at the national anthem). Neither did the incredibly slow food service (I waited all of halftime and 20 minutes of 2nd half for my food before giving up and demanding a refund).
Those Mexican fans who were at the kickoff (and I would say the seats were half full by kickoff time) were, 90% of them, supporting the US in their game. In fact, I saw plenty of people with Mexican jerseys wearing US flag capes, or US flag face paint, or people wearing combined US/Mexico jerseys, etc. However, towards the end of the game the mood started to change, as many of the Mexican fans who had arrived late seemed less supportive of the US. It does make a certain sense, I suppose.
When the game was over the volume started to increase immensely, to a truly deafening level by kickoff. Mexico came out really hard for the first 20 minutes, but Honduras weathered the storm and started showing increasing signs of confidence as the half wore on, and they began to make some forays into the Mexican half. Portillo in particular seemed like he was a handful for the Mexican defense.
Some observers noted that it seemed US fans left instead of watching the Mexico game, and speculated about hostility. I certainly can’t describe anyone else’s motives but I chose to leave at halftime because of the timing. I had my 10 year old son and his teammates with me, and I could either leave at 10 and be home by almost 11, or wait till the game was over, leave at 11:30 with 60-70 thousand other people, and maybe be home by 1am. On a weeknight. The game was exciting enough to make me stay, but it would have been cruel to the kids. As we left our seats I saw a fair number of US fans either leaving, or getting up to buy food, etc. Also, brisk trade was being made outside the entrances to the lower levels, where US fans were selling their better tickets to Mexico fans coming down from the nosebleed heights.
All in all, it was a great time and a fantastic atmosphere. The kids were all hoping that Reliant would get more games next Gold Cup. Me too.
What I was also happy to see were a few runs in the 18 that should have rewarded. Dempsey and Landon each had him open but took a wild shot instead.
Speaking of Runs.. Bedoya for the first 60 made the best ones
Add in Ream in the middle. And Lichaj not getting an initial shot.
This is an excellent post. These r the questions that need to be asked and asked. Bradley is legendary for this.
Hilarious.
And spot on all of it.
Except why did It take all these 8 games in 2011 to figure out this personnel.
Thanks for this post. good capture of the environment and good reading