The U.S. Men's national team takes on Italy today in Genoa in what will arguably be the toughest test the United States has faced since Jurgen Klinsmann took over as head coach six months ago (2:30pm, ESPN2).
The Americans come into the match short-handed, but will still feature several top players, including Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Michael Bradley. They take on an Italy side led by Andrea Pirlo and Gigi Buffon, a side that will also feature some talented young standouts.
The USA lineup doesn't have any surprises. It is the same starting XI we projected on Monday, with Fabian johnson at left back and a Michael Bradley-Maurice Edu-Danny Williams trio in midfield.
SBI will be providing live commentary on today's match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):
I have a new found respect for this website!!!!! You actually got the starting line up correct.
prediction: terrence boyd comes on in the 89th min and scores a hat-trick
I really don’t like this lineup at all, I don’t like Mo as a starter for this match and I dislike Klinsi putting D. Will in a wing position AGAIN when he doesn’t play on the wing.
Why is Rimando on the bench instead of Guzan?
Well, I can see the defensive approach as Italy will dominate possession. But As long as Dempsey can float out wide. Williams is NOT an outside midfielder. I would’ve preferred to see Bradley out there and Williams in the middle.
Canada losing 3-1 to Armenia in Cyprus… Took the lead 3 mins in but been all Armenia since…
Why does JK insist on playing Williams in a role that he simply doesnt play at his club?
Ives point about Williams spending time pushed back into a defensive position is a good one. He will. But saying that our being pressed backwards will allow Dempsey more freedom to the right is not exactly a cheery thought (or a recipe for offense).
Not an impressive bench
id imagine williams, bradley, and edu maypinch in to combat the diamond italy will most likely play with. Shea will keep width on the left while dempsey drifts in from the right to support altidore and get onto the end of wide play from the left…We may not play this way but I wouldn’t read too much into the way we are shaped on paper. Too often a team’s shape is shown before a match and everyone, announcers included don’t take the time to actually evaluate how the team sets up once the game starts.
I think you’re selling him short, don’t you think? With 3 minutes of extra time, that’s less than a goal per minute.
Oh no!
good point about the actual structure being different. But in a way, it is almost as simple as two formations, one the ’1/2 court offense’ and one the ’1/2 court defense’. Structure on the counter is too random to be assessed.
That said, we probably won’t have any of the ball in the attacking third so our structure with the ball is, if not irrelevant, not particularly important.
So maybe Williams selection out wide doesn’t really matter. Hmmm. Thoughts?
Italian newspaper did a big spread on MB yesterday and said, “In a short time you’ve become the brain of Chievo.” Pretty heady stuff.
It’s a friendly, which means many of them will actually see the pitch.
William wide midfield – blech. Maybe Klinsi sees something in training that we haven’t seen translate to the field. Let’s hope. Either that or it’s a flat out admission that he’s given up any hope of scoring goals in the first half and is willing to just bunker down and hope for a late goal.
Does anyone know of a radio broadcast for the game? In on the road near St.Louis, but a radio broadcast anywhere in the world would work.
Does anyone know of a radio broadcast for the game? In on the road near St.Louis, but a radio broadcast anywhere in the world would work.
I can see us using bradley, williams, or edu as an “attacking mid.” In a way that milan did vs juve this weekend, although none are a prototypical #10 they are athletic enough to press pirlo and to find success on the counter by running away from him. I could see a holder, william/bradley on the right side of a diamond, shea as a true LM and bradley/williams at the front of the diamond assigned to pirlo. Altidore as a target and dempsey pretty free to find the ball, just my guess
I would rather see Sachbrah get a chance over Edu. Also am really hoping Jozy just doesn’t stand around up top. However, with little posession I think he is going to be a non factor. Wish Gringo could of played
I see what you/they did there. Touche.
And?
Mo is a good player when we’re in siege mode which we’ll likely be for the entirety of the game.
Mo’s weaknesses are more exposed when our team is on the attack. Losing Donovan, Torres, and Chandler takes two of the guys we were relying on to maintain the ball under pressure and forces Johnson to the back. This totally changes the gameplan.
Under the circumstances I don’t think JK had much of a choice than this defensive lineup. Our only chance of winning now is bunker and counter.
klinsi loves RSL
anyone have a stream? please?
WOO THREE defensive midfielders!
Danny Williams on the right, that worked SO well last time!
I’m glad Edu is an automatic starter, he has earned it with his consistent mediocrity!
Starting three d-mids is going to mean we will be very stagnant when we attack
This has “ugly 2-0 defeat” written all over it. Which is a shame because Our side is likely going to play worse than the sum of it’s admittedly overmatched parts. O/U on TOP? 38%?
Seriously, do you think we’re just going to point you to a place like atdhenet dot tv in this day and age?
Williams on the right again, Edu paired with Michael
hope this midfiled works, but Edu and Williams together seems like a squad that ma struggle with possession but is primed for the counter
we’ll see
Not so sure I agree with Ives that Altidore is a better player than a year ago. He has a better team situation and he is in a league where there is a lot of scoring. But better? His coach at AZ doesn’t seem to think so based on his remarks about lack of progress.
That said, Josmer is all ours, I hope he plays well!
and Shea gets chaparoned to the turf. Hope we get into this one soon.
Ugh. These new away kits are the worst.
So Giovinco is tricksy and pacy. Common Boca and Clarence, let’s play tighter.
you’re right. i don’t know why i assumed such a thing.(but seriously, thanks!)
atdhe stream no good. anyone got something else?
I’ll let Giovinco take that shot all day long with the defender shielding most of the net and the angle fairly sharp. Howard makes that stop 98%.
How the hell is Jozy letting these Italians man handle him like that, as big as he is?
Jozy falling down early and often. Bradley and Edu not enough pressure on Pirlo.
Thanks, for what? Seriously, you’re a horrible person looking for illegal streams… You’re welcome for my opinion.
Not quite… we haven’t seen the “Where’s Waldo” look on Brek Shea yet… someone get him a sock-cap and we’re all set.
Seriously, it’s sad when the Goalkeeper’s jersey is the one you wish you had.
Thank you for noticing my horrible and misguided use of the double entendre.
mike piazza is there! haha nice!
Every time MB can get forward, we look dangerous through the middle.
Seriously, I’d rather see Conor Casey (when healthy) out there… at least he’d be roughing up the Italian defenders to make it easier on whoever comes in for him later.
Howard looking fly in his new jersey…Better than the outfield players’ jerseys
Very true
Jozy still can’t control his touch. Still lacks confidence on the ball.
I would take Jozy out and let him lie down on the sideline.
Shea the turnover machine. My god his first touch sucks and he cant go 1v1 at the international level. I hope that he works on that part of his game.
Brek Shea is WEAK!……
Is it just me, or does Shea seem to switch spots with Johnson without coaching?
hmm…
Brek is SO F-ING frustrating to watch…
Wow, Shea has been trash.
Shea is overrated. He’s so-so….to me he just looks the part.
Danny Williams is the bornstein of the klinnsman era. just awful but it’s mostly cuz JK doesn’t understand he’s not a winger!
Shea and Altidore have been so poor. So, so poor.
screw ESPN
I think Shea’s turnovers are largely due to the fact that he is trying to attack the Italians. He’s still really young but that set of skills is just going to keep getting better.
I think we can agree that Williams can’t play the right side.
When healthy Chandler needs to play left back or we need another player to play LF so Fabian can play the wing, because Brek Shea sucks at the international level. He cant go 1v1, horrible first touch and he cant pass.
“When in Rome,” is all well and good, but Jozy’s play acting is ridiculous. Play your game, Jozy.
Twellman impressed with right side attack, not me. Williams is doing fine as a RB, but he’s playing RW not RB, and he has no attack, none.
Thanks for distributing the illegal stream I’ve been enjoying seamlessly for the past 45 minutes.
Good game from Edu, Bradley, Johnson, and Howard (on today!). Shea is good but apsloppy. great d, made some good passes but too many sloppy ones as well. altidore has been awful. losing possession, bad passes, falling down too much. he looks weak, but he did get the penalty. dempsey has brought fulham form to u.s.a. looks poised for a goal.
He has no attacking skills, so yes, Williams is Klinsi’s JB.
Shea is trying to go 1 v 2-3, FAIL.
Altidore is still young be he’s already getting into the mode of hitting the ground too quickly. He needs to be his relentless self as he was with the Red Bulls and make defenders run backwards. FABIAN JOHNSON!!! Can you say left back AT LAST!!!!….Can’t wait to see him and Chandler playing as the backs someday.
We can talk about individual performances all we want, but let’s face it, Klinsi has us playing 11 guys behind the ball. We won’t get any opportunities with this strategy. I assume he will get more offensive later in the game as he’s done in the past, but I hate how he plays so defensive against better teams in the first half.
This will not come as a shock to anyone but sometimes it just needs to be said:
Alexi Lalas may be the 2nd most clueless soccer analyst in history (and he is 1st if we retire Harkes as the uncontested champion).
There, I said it. I feel better.
Jozy is so deep on defense, I thought he was a D-Mid at times.
Sub Jozy please. Bring on Buddle or Boyd.
Shea needs to show up and run at players.
Boca is too slow but reads the game well.
Edu started shaky but ended the half pretty well.
Impressed with F. Johnson so far at LB.
Lalas was disappointed?! No way??
That guy is so incredibly negative about the USMNT.
Yeah but Bob didn’t realize Bornstein wasn’t a soccer player.
Well, as the road team against strong opposition, I can’t be too unhappy with two free kicks in dangerous spots, 2 corners and a bit of possession too. It ain’t compelling but there is something to be said for it. You know?
I think we need to bring in Kljestan for Williams. We’re missing a truly creative presence in the midfield and he can provide it if you ask me. Maybe even go 4-3-2-1ish with Dempsey and Kljestan underneath Altidore.
Moreover, Bradley has been class for me. Absolute class. I don’t think he’s misplaced a pass all half?
Macca is correct, not enough attackers for USA.
I know, it’s shocking.
Agree on Bradley, but the defensive shape often leaves Pirlo with too much room. He and Edu need to work that out.
He’s usually the most accurate out of all of the announcers assessments. He’s unbiased and really isn’t emotionally attached to the U.S. team, unlike others (cough) Lalas
negative on Klinsmann, from day one.
Bradley and Johnson are standing out to me as impressive so far. and Clint is solid, but what else is new
No question that Italy is a difficult opponent and I understand the strategy, but I still hate it. Klinsi himself said he wanted to see us playing flowing, attacking football against the best the world had to offer. This is a friendly. Let’s open it up a LITTLE.
He really needs to get off the air. I like his enthusiasm, but he’s so inaccurate and over the top.
Sacha in for Williams – push Dempsey up top to pair with Altidore/Buddle (4-4-2) Cameron in for Goodson.
Push play down Shea/Johnson’s side. Italians look a challenged by their creativity and speed.
Let’s go Shea!!!
We have attackers? I thought the idea was to put all 11 players behind the ball and hope a shot bounces off of a head into the opposing goal?
Giovinco is a baller
true dat
Jozy needs to come off, Jesus he is bad.
He’s soooo bad today.
I’d rather see Boyd given a go, Buddle is not an upgrade from Jozy in my opinion.
Only good thing Jozy has done… Clint is just always there..
Goal USA….If you noticed, that came through Bradley and Johnson….Their importance is vital…Altidore with great hold up
He’s avoided the old habit of giving up early goals and spending the whole game playing catch-up.
GOOOOOOOOALLLL DEMPSEY!
Good hold up and layoff for Jozy. Hasn’t fallen down this half. Even Williams crossed midfield with the ball. Things looking up.
+1
I really thought Jozy was going to f that up. Great play by Johnson, he set that whole thing up.
Fabian Johnson has been the man today
Fair enough. A LITTLE.
If it makes you feel better. Keep thinking that.
I’m glad Alexi Lalas isn’t the USMNT coach. He is upset because we didn’t go into Italy, a place where we’ve never won, and just expose ourselves by attacking. Sometimes you need to weather the storm. Keep the ball a bit and pick and choose when you throw players forward. He wants to do it from the beginning even in Europe.
On a side note – Goodsen isn’t good enough to be playing at the international level against teams like Italy. I know they’re not available, but when they are I think Onyewu, John, Gonzalez, and perhaps even Whitbread should be ahead of him in the pecking order.
Timmy’s been good as usual, but is it just me or is he dropping then catching some balls he usually catches? New gloves with new kit?
Wait so the U-23 game is on Telefutura, not on Univision?
What is the Telefutura channel number for DirecTV?
Hey! Why does the US still have 11 players at the 66th minute vs. Italy? Obviously the Turkish ref didn’t get the memo.
Jozy has stepped it up majorly this half
Much better, yes.
bradley found his game in ITaly
Steve Davis put it best on Soccer Today this past Saturday-I don’t question how American the American-Germans are, there fathers risked their lives for the US, but in instances where there is little discernible difference between an AG and somebody who grew up in the US, JK should go with the one who grew up in the US. Danny Williams, I’m looking at you.
jozy not fallen down this half, he is stromg and showing it now
I’ve always been in the camp that MB was our best center mid. That said, this is one of his best performances ever. He has been nearly flawless.
boca!
Except that he doesn’t even chase balls down. Looks like he’s jogging.
I hope he does well, but I don’t understand the hope some people have for Jozy. He finds his way to the bench at every club he goes to. Not impressed. At some point the ‘he’s young’ excuse has to go.
Spector on for F.Johnson.
Good game son!
Handball?
CARLOSSSS!!!!!
Yes! Boyd on!!!!
With Kljestan on for Shea all 11 players on the field are European based. Has this ever happened before?
sasha’s defense angles are really poor
Bradley haters can all be quiet for good now…He has been absolute class
Dempsey just doesn’t care enough to try and keep this lead. He is probably the best US player right now, but I almost never want him on while trying to keep a lead late.
I wonder what GRossi thinks…
Agree. He is having a terrific game.
“My knee still hurts”
I’ve been critical of Bradley, but he has had quite a game and his ball skills look like they’ve really sharpened.
Williams had a good second half.
Yes!!!!!!
We win!!!!!!!!!!!
as soon as the whistle blew ESPN3 went straight to commercial! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA??? I need to see celebration!
Terrance Boyd should never see the field again. Completely lazy and uninspired. Insulting to come in and play so lackluster in a game like this.
Man of the match is Michael Bradley. Huge win.
A 1-0 victory against Italy in Europe while missing a handful of starters…not too bad..
hes tired!!!!
not pretty, but who cares
Congratulations Jurgen Klinnsman and USMNT
La primera vittoria contro Italia!!!
Forza Yankees!
I doubt anything at all. This was a friendly.
senz’altro
he was fantastic tonight
Those jerseys actually don’t look too bad haha
Bradley M.O.M.
gonna disagree with you there. Whether he is ready or good enough is up for debate but he seemed like he was rarin for a fight, challenged every ball.
We’ll see where he goes in the future, I’m sure.
Cheers,
Agreed. His progress has been absolutely impressive.
WOOOOOOOO!!!!
completely agree. expected at least energy but all he did was jog and foul! absolutely garbage it this is his norm
2 things, the first one, I´m extremely proud of today´s performance, this is what makes me proud of the USMNT,a great victory, secondly, It´s my understanding that Boyd now is tied with the USA, cause it´s an official match, am I right?
Wait We Won!?
To those who hate on Bradley, I say suck it. He was our best player today.
Wow, that’s a bit of a rush to judgement for a kid who just saw his first ever 10-15 minutes or so of first-team soccer.
What? He was really active when he came on. I mean are you serious?
Michael Bradley was absolute CLASS. He didn’t put a foot wrong all game. I seriously don’t think the kid misplaced a pass the whole game. Seriously. I was keeping track. I don’t think he was caught on the ball either. Moreover, he was involved in the goal, finding Fabian Johnson on the left flank. He’s starting. No matter what ANYONE says.
YEAAAAHHH baby!!! Now I can go to Frisco as a happy man to watch the exciting young guns take on a wack team.
Damn that made my day!
Nope. Friendlies are not FIFA tournaments.
Forza USA!
Amen!
Bradley was insanely good today. He’s become a bit of an artist with the ball. His first touch is so good it’s scary, not just the weight on the touch but the direction and planning. It’s like he’s two moves ahead of everyone else. He can have 3 or 4 guys around him yet always makes the play to space. To think, there was a time when I didn’t think this kid had any ball skills. I remember him w/ the M-Stars and wondering why he was playing at all. Just goes to show how much I know.
Where are the Klinsmann boo boys? They’re quiet today.
He’s prob’ly trollin’
Mark my words: Fabian Johnson and Michael Bradley just locked down their starting spots for Qualifiers and potentially the 2014WC. MB himself was incredibly calm on the ball, distributed perfectly, and was the stalwart of the defense. Donovan will come back and put DWill on the bench (who did have a good 2nd half, but still)…. things are looking up.
Bradley is BOSS. Great combo play between Altidore and Dempsey on the goal. Hyperbolic, manic depressive NAT fan boys and girls need to calm down.
I hope he doesn´t play for Germany, right now I don´t think so…
Sasha continues to show his pure wackness! It doesn’t matter if he plays for 5 minutes or the full 90, he is wack in a U.S jersey. Trade him to Canada.
Bradley! A BEAST!! Enough said.
Fabian: The dude played amazing on the left. It’s difficult to say who starts there. Crazy. I’m very excited the depth we have in that position. Just 8 months ago we were going crazy to find someone, I think we have a few now.
Dempsey… probably will go down as the greatest U.S player. At least to me he is and will be.
Everyone was solid toady. Good dribbling and possession. Would like to see more, but todays possession was better than I have ever seen…. especially considering we were in Italy.
J-Spect coming up big at the end. Great performance by the boys. Bradley Man of the Match in my opinion. Boca and Goodson got beat quite often but recovered every time. Dempsey with a class finish and Jozy with some great hold up play. Fabian Johnson was wonderful as well. Edu played well with some great tackles. I didnt really see Shea or Williams get involved much except when they were giving the ball away. Great, great win
Booooooo!
But I liked it when he swatted Pirlo
Poster Ben should never use the internet again. Completely lazy use of blowhard cliches. Disrespecting the efforts of players representing our nation in difficult circumstances.
Fire Bradley!
Do they play better without Donovan than with? Tough question or not so tough to answer.
Seriously, though. Very good result for Klinsi and the team. The strategy for him in tough games appears to be to put 11 guys behind the ball early and hope to weather the storm then open up a little later in the game to try to take advantage of an edge in fitness. It’s a little boring, but I understand it, and it worked today. I generally judge a game not on goals but on scoring chances and we lost by a pretty fair margin on that rubric. But I don’t want to rain on the parade. It’s a great win, and Klinsi and the boys should be proud.
I don’t think anyone could honestly argue that the team is better off without Donovan, but it is an interesting thought…
It does help that he is completely familiar with how 90% of the Azzuri play already.
Hmm, Goodson helped to solidify a backline that (along with Howard) just stoned Italy. Please respect his performance. I agree with you on Onyewu. Gonzo is injured and who knows what he’ll be like when he comes back. Whitbread would be ahead of Goodson, if he could only stay uninjured. And John hasn’t played nearly as regularly or has the NT experience that Goodson has. Wait til John shows in Europe before we crown him a starting CB for the NT.
Great result, all things considered. I was pleased with the improvement from Jozy and Danny in the 2nd half. Danny should probably be a sub for Bradley-Edu rather than a right winger but today we were short on options. Going forward I thin Goodson should be dropped down a few spots on the depth chart behind Whitbread, Boca, and Gooch. Gotta like Johnson and Chandler as the future fullbacks. When you talk about being able to catalyze the attack from the back those two guys are essential to that vision. I’m excited. We are taking baby steps and that’s all we can expect.
Sheesh! What does Jozy need to do to impress you?!?! Score a brace and get an assist? I didn’t watch the game, just followed the commentary but everyone seems to agree that he played a strong second half and had the assist on the ONLY GOAL of the game. He also played through a sprained wrist the 1st half that, I’d assume limited his physical play.
Two questions to consider there:
1) Is there a lineup that the US can field without LD that is better than lineups with him?
2) Do the other players try harder, play smarter, etc. when LD is not there and thus the team is better.
I think we can agree that the answer to 1) is clearly not. He is the best all around player on the US and thus can fit into any formation and improve it. As to 2), who can say and the answer will be probably be subjective anyways.
Bradley/Holden midfield 2014!
Goodson helped to solidify a backline that (along with Howard) just stoned Italy. How does that drop him down the depth chart behind Whitbread, who hasn’t played for the NT, and is oft-injured?
Wow! That was the US playing? Actually keeping possession and controlling tempo instead of just running around like chickens with heads cut off?
We’ve come a long way, baby.
Awesome, awesome result!!
MOM: General Bradley.
Funny how the comments stop as soon as Dempsy scores. Not as fun when there is nothing to complain about, I guess.
Not in Germany they didn’t. The US Army in Germany was waiting for the Ruskies to come storming through the Fulda Gap. They never could afford the diesel fuel.
not so tough. no, no they don’t
Dempsey = Gangsta!
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!
But not on attack, he doesn’t attack.
Sasha like JB can turn a game around quickly.
I’m not saying he played badly today, he played well. But it is my personal belief that when healthy, the aforementioned players would help us more than Goodson.
Compliments from Italy for the victory… Italian tv commentators have highly praised Bradley’s game as well as the composure of USMNT. I don’t know how good MB was before, but it looks like that training and playing regularly for Chievo (a mid-low table team, but good at finding and growing talent) has done wonders!
It looks to me that many US players are tactically still a bit naive… hopefully MB performance has shown to a wider audience the merits of the Italian approach to the game.
However, great win for US soccer. From today on the movement has definitely won respect in Italy.
Dumb question. Donovan on for williams (or shea) is a MASSIVE upgrade
I really don’t think there’s anything to it at all. This was a great win, but did we OUTPLAY Italy? No, the Azzurri had many more chances than us. We essentially had one decent chance and a setpiece Jozy drew while Italia was around our goal the whole match. LD would have helped immensely with possession and service on the wing. D-Will held up well and put in a yeoman’s effort, but this is a stepping stone match that shows we CAN beat the big teams if we bunker down, but it’s not how we want to be playing in 2014. We should be happy but recognize that there’s still a lot of work to do.
No question – and to his credit.
Sure Mr Bob Dobalina, Mr Bob Dobalina, but the man is also just flat out showing skeeelz.
Nice opinion – where does this ‘he doesn’t play defense’ notion come from? He definitely does for Fulham – and Edu and Bradley have a job to play defense for the U.S. And he is great at defending corners – you have espoused a tired argument for somebody that just helped the U.S. defeat Italia for the first time ever. First time ever.
Amen x 2!!!
Bradley was the main cog in the wheel that just beat Italy, in Genoa. He’s the next captain of the U.S. in my opinion.
Never a bad time for a Del reference.
donovan in the squad is a no brainer. maybe the U.S. scores two with him on the pitch. a wholly different squad with donovan – much better.
Pep now looking at Michael to replace the injured Xavi.
I don’t know what game you were watching. I don’t think I ever saw him sprint, including his 2v2 opportunity which he botched. With 10 or 15 minutes left in the game he should almost never stop running and I didn’t see him sprint once. I can forgive all the fouls and mistakes, but lack of effort is too much.
Just goin over the comments tonight, about 9 hours after the game. The amount of negativity, pre-goal, is disgusting. What a bunch of wwhiny knowitall batches. True SUPPORTERS can rejoice tonight.
For sure, self hating batches