USA beats Guatemala (a closer look)

                                                                                Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team defeated Guatemala on Wednesday night, 1-0, in the opening match of the World Cup Qualifying group stage. It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was downright ugly for the Americans for the first 60 minutes of the match. Guatemala created chances, torched the American flanks, and gave the crowd every reason to go crazy.

Funny thing is Guatemala never did score. The 'Chapines' huffed and puffed but Tim Howard's world-class form and Guatemala's own finishing deficiencies kept the match tied until DaMarcus Beasley came in and pumped life into the U.S. team, delivering a perfect cross to a wide-open Carlos Bocanegra for the game's only goal.

Twenty minutes of solid defending and impressive possession work later, the Americans were on the bus celebrating the U.S. team's first victory in Guatemala  in 20 years.

There is so much to discuss about this match, from Eddie Lewis' eye (which I have a picture of) to Tim Howard calling out Carlos Ruiz to a downright hilarious press conference with Guatemalan reporters asking priceless questions.

Let's get started:

First, let's start with Eddie Lewis, who was in good spirits after receiving stitches in his right eye following Gustavo Cabrera's malicious elbow attack on him. The Guatemalan media might want to look at this picture before they go on believing the Cabrera red card was a make-up call:

SoccerTimes writer Bob Wagman asked Lewis if he would still be pretty enough for the LA Galaxy, to which Lewis responded "I think they'll still find a place for me." In a perfect world, Lewis would take Carlos Ruiz's old number.

Speaking of Carlos Ruiz, Tim Howard pulled no punches when discussing Ruiz, who kicked him in the head during one sequence when Howard had already pounced on a loose ball.

“He caught me. He kicked me straight in my head," Howard said of Ruiz. "With Carlos, you expect that. You know what, he's dirty. I wish I could say otherwise but I played in MLS and I’ve seen it. There is no place for it. It's reckless. It's there for everyone to see, but again, I kind of expect it."

Howard drew a yellow card for going after Ruiz and smacking his hand away after Ruiz "apologized" to him. Howard wasn't buying the apology."

“I think you would rather have him come and man up and say, 'Look, I don't like you, I’m going to kick you and I’m going to do all that.'" Howard said. "You can almost respect it in a funny way but he has this way about him where he kicks and punches, he's an asshole and he wants to come and be your friend. There’s just no place for it."

In other words, it sounds like Tim Howard has a little more respect for Cuauhtemoc Blanco than for Ruiz, who managed to smack Heath Pearce in the face and kick Tim Howard in the head and NOT get a single card. (This is where I would normally insert a wisecrack about the referee being hired by MLS, but I won't after seeing Jair Marrufo perform so well at the Olympics.)

Another classic scene from Wednesday night was the post-game press conference with Bob Bradley where the first four question were from Guatemalan reporters who were clearly going with the 'Guatemala robbed by the referee' storyline: "Coach, what do you think of a big team like the United States needing the referee to help it win a game against Guatemala?" "Do you think the result was fair?" "What did you think of Guatemala's red card, which was obviously a make-up call for the USA red card?" "How much did the United States pay the referee?"

Okay, so that last one was made up, but the others were actually asked. To his credit, Bradley answered them with bland answers that didn't provoke much reaction. I couldn't help but imagine Bruce Arena facing those same questions and delivering a wity retort like, "Well, if Cabrera did that in the United States he'd probably get arrested. Here they'll probably give him a medal."

Kudos go out to the American fans who attended the match. It was a modest-sized but vocal group that held its own despite being severely outnumbered. The best was hearing the Americans chant "Your not singing over there." You could hear it clear as day, but probably because Guatemalan fans were busy trying to figure out what the gringos were saying.

Those same fans were lent a helping hand by the U.S. Soccer Federation after the game. A group of more than 30 fans were stranded at the stadium after their transportation failed to show up. U.S. Soccer officials arranged to have the national team's charter bus return to the stadium after dropping off the team to pick up the fans and take them back to the team hotel. It was a great gesture for a great contingent of fans.

That's all for now, but before I go I will leave with this last thought. I know that the 1-0 win in ugly fashion won't be enough for some fans who think that Kenny Cooper and Freddy Adu could have made it a 5-0 USA blowout if only they had been called up, but anyone who assumes that Cooper or Adu would have made this game anything but the tooth-and-nail street fight it was always destined to be just isn't living in reality. Cooper and Adu's chances will come. Wednesday night just wasn't the time to throw in players who haven't been in that kind of environment before.

What did you think of the game? Think the referee was on the take?(kidding). Were you happy with the match? Were you disappointed? Think the Americans got lucky? Think the Guatemalans have only themselves to blame?

Share your thoughts on the match below.

Comments

[fieldsy]

The red card for the guatemalan player who hit eddie lewis was well deserved. it was vicious and he was covered in blood, much more deserved than two stupid yellow cards by cherundolo. what ridiculous questions by the guatemalan media? talk about bias.

[macarthur31]

Streetfight seems like an appropriate term. It seems like most matches in CONCACAF are street fights. If the soccer "haters" need anymore fodder, just have them watch last night's performance by Carlos Ruiz and Co. as they flopped and cheapshotted their way to almost pulling off a result. Which is too bad, because that overshadowed the quality they did have before we match went 10 v 1.

Tonight was the kind of game that you have a Mastro, Lewis and Chingy for -- cagey veterans who won't lose their head in hostile territory.

I used to have a mancrush on Michael Sheehan Bradley, but it seems like he's been regressing lately. (Maurice Edu is climbing like a rocket, though.)

I would've been fine with the point, so I was very pleased to see the Yanks take all three. Maybe this away game in Central America hex on the team.

[East River]

I disagree with you a bit about Adu not having the exp to play in this game. He has been exposed to a high level of international play having played in Chile and Mexico City and other venues in Champions Cup for DC United. He has more experience at in that type of game then say Michael Bradley or M. Edu. Its just that Adu's game would not fit into the slug fest that this game was always meant to be. Cooper has the body type but not the experience and that partly Bradly's fault for just keep refusing to play in friendlies and tournies. The US better get use to this type of game as many Concacaf teams play this type of Rugby like soccer.

[cj]

I understand it is tough to win on the road in WC qualifying but we played with no composure the first 2/3 of this game. I know it is all about results but we should be possessing the ball better against a bunch of MLS rejects we played. I really would like to see Bob look at some young talent. As for his son, Michael, I think Bob needs to bench him. Not impressed.

[Lee]

Mac I agree about Bradley. I'm thinking he has just played too much at this point, is tired, and needs to not be called in for the next game. Give the guy some rest.

In the Celtic/Rangers rivalry I lean toward Celtic but its gonna be fun to follow Beasley/Edu there. I thought Mo looked good when he came in, handled himself well.

[Nate M]

I was a bit surprised and encouraged to see Bradley without a card (and only one tackle from behind).

What was going on with Pearce? He seemed to be really off last night.

I'm not a fan of the flat back that the US is playing. Either the way the US is playing it is off or the players just aren't up to the rigors of it - but the Guatemalans looked very capable of getting behind the defense fairly consistently.

It's tough to grade the offense well on anything except their ability to take punishment. The control was loose but kind of hard to control the ball when you've got elbows and knees flying everywhere.

[doug]

that was a devastating hitjob on Lewis. Be clear, the replays showed the player launching himself, in the air, from 3 feet away. Also, somebody needs to talk to Carlos Ruiz before somebody goes Rico Clark all over his ass. The guy has been askin for it for at least 4 years.

[Beckster]

Ives, totally agree with you on the attack - or lack thereof. Bench Bradley, put Adu in attacking mid and Cooper up front instead of Ching and you might have something interesting. Also, left side was awful. Although I felt bad for Lewis, he was not impactful. Pearce was weak. Beasley and Convey need to be the options there and we still have big hole at left back.

[mudcat]

The alarming part was that an "experienced" squad didn't deal with the situation. Instead they were petulant and thought they deserved greater respect from the ref. Same thing happens every time we go down to Central America. Dolo's two cards were amazingly immature. Clint's card is rooted in a sense of entitlement. And Pablo is just a crad waiting to happen.

[doug]

Pearce was off because everything the Guatemalans were doing came on his side with Rodriguez. He mightve been just winded. Did Guatemala even attempt to come down the left side at all last night? I think if anything, it showed he doesnt have the speed to play as a starting LB becuase Loco was toasting him all night

[Reid]

Ives good article on EPSN, I really can't wait for Ruiz to tour the MLS stadiums now, its gonna be like CR7 going back to England.
Please boo and wistle everytime this "man" gets the ball.
And could you imagine how pissed Dempsey would look if he got pulled out of the while playing good.

[Rob Usry]

That was hilarious Ives, good write up. I think taking the circumstances into consideration this is the best result possible. This was the hardest fixture in the group by far and we come away with 3 points. I never thought I'd say this but Ching really impressed me in the last 20 minutes of the game I really liked how he held the ball up for other players to make runs. Beasley looked great, Edu really calmed down the mid-field when he came in, If Mastroeni ever starts in front of him again Bradley does need to be fired. But speaking of Bradley he really showed me something with those Subs after the Card and Injury he could have sat back but he didn't and it payed off. Go USA!

[Patrick Cook]

Did anyone else think the referee looked like Ives?

[ag nigrin]

I have been following these CONCACAF WC qualifiers for the last 20+ years... and the only way this one was different was that the USA won. End of story... You can talk all you want about who was lousy, who played poorly, etc., but like Ives wrote this game was a nasty street fight. Forget the style points please!

[Marc]

i think a lack of fitness for some of our euro guys, like pearce and lewis (who has not played much recently) contributed to the US form. But there is no excuse for what cherundolo did. if that was mastro, he would be getting killed. and dempsey looks terrible. i am growing convinced that he and donovan can't be on the field together.

[ag nigrin]

Also how nice of the charter bus to stiff our USA fans post-game... such class!

[brett]

i will agree with the most here...

MB has simply played too much football.... he needs a break... next friendly or 2 bring up Edu, Clark and Mastro.... or throw LD into the middle or Adu... either way i think MB just needs a break from Intl' football...

i was critisizing BB's choice of bringing up Ching due to the fact i want cooper in.... but quite frankly with how dirty they were i really didnt want to see Cooper on the same field.... Ching did an amazing job at taking the dirty little tackles and jabs and late shoves, all while keeping his head screwed on tight... he ran his *ss off and worked hard all 90... he was exactly the type of player we needed

Mastro pissed me off for the first 20, but then after that he really stepped it up... applying close pressure making the guats screw up... deserves another callup in my mind...

for all the Beasely haters, that was exactly what makes him so valueable... he has a great soccer mind.... what did he do for the last 30?? he kept possession and slowed the game down... he forced Guat. to make stupid fouls.... he added much needed talent and speed...

all in all, i think the game was UGLY... the US looked bad... couldve been the fact its an away game in a hostile environment or whatever, but we looked bad....hopefully it was just the hostile environment and Guat. coming out fireing on all cylinders...

[wrong]

I'm tired of being satisfied with getting ugly wins. Remember how a week ago everyone was celebrating the fact that we managed to scrap by Japan in the Olympics, and people were praising the team's ability to win, even if it was ugly. Well how did that team turn out? I see the same happening to MNT in the next world cup. I understand it was a hostile environment and our boys showed composure, but no one can tell me that the tactics the US used and the style we played is any different than what we normally do - we sat back, defended hard, and didnt try to hold possession. We don't need to be the English fans calling for blood after this game, but we need to demand more from our boys than just winning against garbage teams. I'm tired of it, and I'm scared that nothing has changed since the last world cup.

[Fire Ron Guenther]

It's 3 points from a place where the USA had never won before, so I'll take it.

Heath Pearce bad. Guatemala enjoyed attacking down that side of the field all night.

Steve Cherundolo should have walked home from Guatemala. His first yellow card was for bouncing the ball like a petulant child when the ball was off his body and it was a proper throw-in for Guatemala. The 2d came when he grabbed a Guatemalan player by the ankles after he fell on the ground.

Tim Howard solid. Bradley looks tired.

[yankiboy]

Great job Ives.

Props to our boys on the result. 3 points playing away against a regional power.

Props to the US fans who reprezented.

Props to some of the members of the Guatemalan press corps for the comic relief.

Props to Bradley for his self-discipline and wisdom in response to the comic relief.

Mission accomplished.

Oh yeah--Ruiz defenders... Por favor...
Good luck to Red Batch, U-Sector, Tribal Nation and the other TFC suppoerted with Ruiz--looks like you are going to need it.
Mo Johnston better work a miracle...

[Reid]

wrong - I don't like ugly wins either, but guate wasn't gonna let us win any other way. Thought their play down the right side was great, and Pearce was just too tired to do anything about it. Get him a couple games over in europe to get in shape and i think he'll do better. And as long as Boca can just play defense and not touch the ball with his feet we will be fine too.

[Eugene]

Very ugly game. The US came away with a result, but our quality of play was poor at best. That's enough to get a win in Guatemala, but we're not going to win against serious teams with that kind of play.

Frankly, our possession was poor with Howard or the midfield giving up possession often. We played a lot of long ball over the midfield. We had no playmaker and it showed as our attacks looked mostly disorganized. We didn't have a serious shot on goal outside of set pieces, and most shots were long range bombs. Many of our top players had poor first touches and the European guys looked somewhat out of form. I would even venture to say that Howard looked like he had gained some weight, but that's just one person's observation.

Overall, there was nothing in the game to be proud of and we were fortunate to walk away with a win instead of a tie (or even worse a loss). We scored on a Guatemalan mistake, make no bones about it.

All that said, the referring in the game was also horrible (but not surprising) and the game was allowed to get way out of control. It started within the first 10 minutes when Ruiz wasn't carded for an elbow to Heath Pearce's face. That just opened the flood gates. Ruiz should also have gotten a yellow card for hitting Howard -- that's a yellow card anywhere in the world and our players got yellows for much less contact with the goalkeepers in the Olympics.

The red card given to Cabrera was well deserved. Not believing so would be utter nonsense. When you hit a player with your elbow at full speed and it draws blood from a person's face, opening a wound that requires stitching, that's a RED CARD anywhere in the world.

Overall, I think few of our players played well. We have problems at left back and at right back (surprisingly, given Dolo has usually been good at right back). Our centerbacks didn't do a good job of closing down the space in front of goal, although they did well to NOT draw cards.

For me, the best US players on the pitch were Beasley and Bradley. Dempsey was ok, he's improving as a 2nd striker. Ching was invisible but apparently did the "little things" (just like Claudio Reyna did the "little things" for the Red Bulls...). Donovan had way too many poor first touches, errant passes, and times when he ran with the ball for too long instead of looking for quick passing options in front of him (not back passes). Don't know why this guy can't play right wing, but he needs to figure it out because no one would ever play him at striker or attacking mid in a higher level league.

Howard was good as usual, but I'm sure will be better when he's in mid-season form.

[JM]

at the end of the day a win is a win. as ugly as it may have been.

[Jspot]

That entire Guata team is filled with some crazy dudes... and that an understatement.. .was I the only one who thought the yanks were getting tired? Dempsey vanished in the second half, Dolo has to do better, man of the match has got to be boca, and despite all of gooch's detractors you need a guy like that on your team in conacaf qualifying, but maybe not in the world cup... although i would have liked to see those center backs backing up howard after the kick to the face... poor form.

also did you see the amount of security that walked Eddie off? Imagine if that had been a serious injury and he had to go to a hospital... In guata... Real Scary...

[Ryan]

I'm thoroughly disappointed in the progress under Bradley. We went from being promising, with talented youngsters, back to crappy veterans like Mastroeni, Lewis, and Ching. Bradley did another mediocre coaching job (at best), but it will go unnoticed because we managed to get a lucky goal and win in Guatemala.

The fact is - Guatemala is a terrible team. Yeah, they are dirty and physical, but that doesn't make them any better. With the talent in our system, we shouldn't be struggling to beat teams like Guatemala, regardless of the environment.

We've got issues all over the field that have never been addressed by Bradley, who refuses to go outside his little circle of old standbys (Hejduk, Mastroeni, Ching, Johnson, Lewis, Cherundolo, etc) to bring in the younger, more talented players.
The fast but weak wings of Guatemala torched our outside backs all night. Our supposed "best" player disappeared as soon as he stepped on the field. Bradley's lead striker, Mr. Ching, was just as invisible as Donovan. And no, John Harkes (or was it Wynalda?), Ching was no better in the second half than the first.
Our midfield partner for Michael Bradley was more likely to get thrown out of the game than complete a pass. Our left winger decided to try speed moves on the wing all night, when he has no "speed" at all.

It got worse when we brought on Frankie Hejduk, who was marginal in his prime, come on immediately get beat repeatedly down the wing. Heath Pearce did his best to match Cherundolo and Hejduk.

We came out of the last World Cup yelling for changes, and instead we got Bob Bradley, who is doing the exact same things Bruce Arena did.

Unfortunately, US Soccer just doesn't get it.

[Jason]

Games in central America on sloppy pitches with poor lighting are going to be ugly. Freddy would not have impacted this sort of game in any way. He is one of our Best XI and should have been on the field, but the game would have appeared the same.

While Cherundolo's yellows were petty, they were both deserved, and the blame should be placed on him alone. The first yellow was coming to someone after a number of rough challenges immediately before that on both sides, and Donovan employed similar timewasting and dissent gestures only minutes before as well. The second yellow was a clear professional foul.

The Guatemalean red was one of the most vicious challenges I've seen. The replay shows the player was not watching the flight of the ball, and clearly drew a bead on Eddie Lewis.

Howard looked great. Beasley was by far the best field player of the night.

Bradley and Mastro can NOT be relied upon to distribute.

[SonicDeathMonkey]

3 points on the road, in a WCQ match is pretty no matter how ugly the game was. Also, Fieldsy, Cherundolo's 2nd yellow undeserved? He grabbed the mans leg. It was a stupid play, but a yellow nonetheless.

[Gage]

Exciting win last night, it will help down the line. But, I can't help but think that dirty games like this are a big part of what's wrong with CONCACAF. This type of game is not good preparation for World Cup play (Italy 2006 aside).

[Eugene]

Overall, I would have liked to have seen the US play a younger side, especially the guys who did well in the Olympics.

Our veterans are veterans of playing ugly. Playing them all the time is not allowing us to move forward and raise our game.

[Eugene]

Ryan,

Couldn't agree more. Changes need to be made and the sooner they are made ahead of 2010, the better we'll be. I just don't understand BB's reluctance to play younger players who are better at keeping possession, putting together quick passing plays, and scoring. Would have liked to have seen Kljestan play last night.

[yankiboy]

@Ryan: Bro, I gotaa seriously disagree on a couple things.

We got 3 points down there for the first time. Bradley picked a roster that accomplished the mission.

Guatemala isn't a terrible team. The fact is that they beat Mexico earlier this year. Very few "terrible" teams beat Mexico. Are they the standard that we should wish to measure ourselves against--I think that we both agree and would give a resounding "NO!". No disrepect to Guatemala but the USMNT history clearly indicates to us that we need to be significantly better than most of our regional competition if we desire to be successful on a bigger international stage.

The play last night was sloppy. We have a LOT of improvement to do. I wasn't a Bradley guy. I thought the hire was subpar. Not to say that he is subpar. Just not the guy that I wanted for that position. But so far he gets a decent grade in my book. He's gonna have to get better just like our boys have to get better.

[chg]

If you don't like ugly wins, don't watch games in Guatemala. They are a dirty team, and the ref turns a blind eye to their tactics when they are playing at home. They turn every home game into a brawl because they suck. Their only chance to get a result is to minimize the impact of skill on the game. Teams like Guatemala are as bad for soccer as the Pat Riley Knicks that almost killed the NBA in the mid 90's.

[Tim]

USMNT Man of the Match:
Tim Howard

Very good performances:
Bocanegra
Beasley
Gooch

Good performances:
Edu
Hejduk
Mastroeni

Okay performances:
Bradley
Ching
Dempsey
Donovan
Pearce (much better in second half)

Sub-par:
Cherundulo
Lewis (I'm sorry he got hurt but he was awful)

- Difficult away game for USMNT but they should have had a better first 60 minutes; lucky Guatemalan defender made reckless challenge on Lewis as momentum changed at that point

- No engine for US offense; needed more shots on goal

- Ching and Donovan had no magic; thought Donovan needed to play better for US to win but Howard, Boca, Beasley and Gooch came through big time

- Pearce beaten quite often on left side during first half but improved a little as game went on

- Stupid first half yellow by Cherundulo came back to bite him; surprised that his reaction merited a card but he must have crossed the line

- Pando and Pescadito should get for flopping like fish and disrespecting the game but kudos for Guatemalan team as a whole for great work effort and fight; they had the US on its heels

[George]

@Jason

I agree with you about Bradley and Mastro. We had no linkage to the the attack because Dempsey who should be coming back to pick up the ball and distribute did nothing. Bradley was invisible for long stretches of the game. If Bradley wants to be the starting holding midfielder he needs to impose his presence on the game and I don't think he did that. I hope Edu will improve at Rangers and supplant Bradley at that role because it is pretty clear Edu has eclipsed Ricardo Clark who cannot get a sniff of the USMNT since Edu came into form.

I like Dempsey, but he was ineffective and quiet out there (besides a stupid yellow) and then he cried when he was subbed out. Grow up Dempsey!! I hate to think that his playing time at Fulham will be limited this year because of all the new signings, but physically he doesn't look like he takes care of himself, which will lead him to get fatigued as the season wears on.

[Joseph Liburd]

The storyline that no one seems to be mentioning here is that this wasn't a mediocre performance by the CONCACAF dominating US of A. This was a Guatemala team that faught us with some quality and technical prowess up until the 2nd half. i can't speak for all of CONCACAF but the blue stripes are getting a hell of a lot better. And also worth mentioning, this national team is not that a completely new cast. Much to the contrary, they have shown considerable growth with the same management team since I last saw them at Gilette stadium in 07 or 06. In the long run, this is what will be the bigger story and I for one can't wait until the Gold Cup is held outside of the US to see more motivated opposition.

PS: Lets keep focus here, the game got ugly but before every streetfight there is a point where intelligence can avoid the descent into violence, we didn't take our chances when we should have and managed the game poorly and played into the home team's hands. We were lucky to leave with a point, nevermind the 3 we did!

[mig22]

Everything has been just about hashed out by other comments about but I think the Heath Pearce situation merits watching.

He was...simply awful. He was awful before he got tired. It wasn't his pace, it was his positioning. He's young and I expect him to improve but how many times can one guy get beaten. In the recent friendlies, I was certain he had taken the role for himself. Now, he needs to be watched.

For all the carping over the years about our central defense, they were fantastic last night. All that pressure heaped on them by Dolo and Pearce mistakes was handled with good positioning, no cards, and their distribution was fine (see below).

I think the pitch in the middle third was slower and bumpier than on the ends. Guatemala succeed with whacking long balls out wide right. When our middies tried to work it through the middle field, the ball seemed to die.

Win is a win....Guatemala is no joke at home and that's a good three points.

[macarthur31]

Was it an ugly 3 points? Sure. But it was 3 crucial points to start the semifinal round off right.

I like Coach Bradley. I can see the criticism that he might be Arena v2.0 (except instead of putting in UVa guys, he puts in old Fire hands. Hey, but I'm alright with that, since I heart the Fire). However, I'm trying to figure out what Jurgen Klinsmann, or whatever other coach would've done given the national talent pool that we have. We're overloaded at attacking mids (Dempsey, Donovan, Adu, Kjlestan). Probably our most Euro-veteran player (Beasley) is recovering from injury. We have no answers at left back (but so do most countries). We have no proven pure striker. We have decent centerbacks.

Given that we're stacked at attacking mid (and I say stacked in that we have lots of 'em, but probably not more talented that front line Euro squads), perhaps we could run a Chelsea like 4-5-1. However, to do that, you need a serious anchor-mid (Makelele back then, Essien now), and a great forward (like Drogba). Unfortunately, MSB isn't there yet as an anchor; and Altidore isn't there yet as the forward.

To borrow a phrase from Rick Pitino, "Guiseppe Rossi isn't coming through that door, Neven Subotic isn't coming through that door..." IMHO, it's tough to second guess Bradley right now -- he's playing the hand he's dealt in terms of US talent.

[Trex]

I was actually extremely impressed with our performance. yes it was ugly and yes I hated seeing Guatemala get so many chances, but I think people don't understand how hard of a task it is to go into a place like that and come out with a result. Yes they were dirty as always, but I'll still give a lot of credit to Guatemala as they played an inspired 90 minutes, that was one heck of a slug fest. Because of that, I think that a win like this is more comforting to me than an easy 5-0 romp on some other central American team. I'm extremely proud of our boys and confident they can handle anything else on the way to 2010.

[Jspot]

Ok kids... theres one way to win a game in which the entire military is mobilized to mantain order, Barbed wire and chain links are used to keep the crowd off the pitch, there are 40 fouls and that even with the ref giving up on calling fouls in the last 5 mins, two red cards within a minute of each other, and that with veterans that have qualified before.
Lets take a look at two thinks people. 1 in the past 20 years we havn't won in Guata... we did that last night.

The other point, I don't mean to sound cocky but the USA is pretty clinical at qualifying for world cups in conacaf, I feel that there is a formula that works well, use the vets protect your young guys and let them develop ahead of a big world cup in South Africa, an away game in guata is an atmosphere most teams do not have to endure and DOES not EXIST at a world cup... (where the rent a cops have full riot gear?)
-this is part of an overall strategy for world cup qualifying... so chill out..

this game was well planned and coached except that beasley should have been brought on earlier. Well in for bradley pulling dempsey. I think he just misses playing full games... the deuce is losing some of that chip on his shoulder...

[Brant]

@ Fire Ron:
"The 2d came when he grabbed a Guatemalan player by the ankles after he fell on the ground."

Cherundolo's 2d card was crap. If the foul had been called on the Guatemalan player for trying to mount Cherundolo like goat in a mating ritual, then Steve wouldn't've been on the ground, pissed off for getting beaten on, and wondering why there was a hole in his shorts.

[rocky]

i have to say that im just totally unimpressed with the usa. I know they were playing on the road in a hostile place, but come on. This team has no style, no combination play, everything is just boomed up from the back, instead of passing around. Its clear to see that freddy adu was sorely missed, and again im gonna ask the question: were was he? I hope bob bradley can answer that one.

[kco]

Multi-game suspension for Gustavo Cabrera. CONCACAF HAS TO take a look at that video and they will (better!) agree.

Major props to Brian Ching. Not bad for his first trip to Central America. He held up the ball well and distributed well multiple times allowing the US to have extended possession to kill some time and the hearts of Guatemala. (correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that was his first trip).

[Rob C]

What we all watched last night was not a soccer game, plain and simple. It's pretty clear that even if the U.S. wanted to come in and play controlled, attacking soccer, they wouldn't have been able to do it. The plan was clearly for Guatemala to hack and hack and try and turn the tide of the game that way, and you know what, they were successful. But the result shows a 1-0 victory for the U.S. and that's all that matters.

As much as we all watch teams like the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and aspire for our American boys to be like them, CONCACAF games simply do not allow them to play like that, even if we had such talent. Yes, you can say "the best teams would assert themselves" and I agree the U.S. could have showed better composure last night, but games like this just get out of hand.

I think the team deserves compliments for doing something they haven't done in 20 years. It may not be the "progress" we want to see, but it is progress for sure.

And I think when Guatemala comes here, things might play out a little bit differently. I'm looking forward to that return match.

[usnavysrshief]

Bob Bradley has seen this before. In CONCACAF the US gets Jobbed almost every game. Guatemala plays this way because they get away with it. BB new they would and deployed his players accordingly. Not pretty for sure and we survived several players having REAL BAD games.
Lewis was very bad and left Pearce alone so many times by pinching in and not tracking back it became silly just watching it. He just needs to stay away.
Dolo has not had a good game for almost a year (Gold Cup). I wish Simek were available. Maybe It is time for Wynne(ugh!!!)
Mastro was a sieve all game long. Left out of position and never made a decent pass to anybody, he was horrible. When Mike Bradley would even peek at going forward Mastro left the middle wide open for #16 to just run around all day in the mid field without being challenged. He should never be called in again especially after Edu came in and all od a sudden Mike Bradley's game came alive because he trusted that Edu would be there having his back. Bradley/Edu should be the pairing it is most obvious.
Dempsey: Either bench him or find a place that he is comfortable playing at. He was invisible except for losing his cool. He got really upset after the Lewis clash and it was Very Smart of BB to pull him after Dempsey did the Throat Slash thing near the ref standing along side Lewis on the ground. Demps was going to go after someone and BB did good to get him off the field. Boca was talking to him like a good captain should. I do not beilev that him and Donovan can play those same 2 positions in any game and be effective.
Donovan: Well Mr. Landycakes Disappeared again when the game got tough!!!! What a lame ass excuse for an attacking player. Soft does not describe him!! Pulled out of SO MANY tackles the Guats new he was not going to challenge them and they used him up!!!! Someone needs to think really hard about not giving him an automatic spot on this team!!! Adu can easily replace him and Dempsey may actually flourish with Donovan not on the field with him. I was watching Dempsey when Donovan would chicken out on a run or tackle and he would just shake his head and throw his hands up in disgust. Donovan makes me want to Puke!!!!!!
Good games were to be had though!!!
Boca and Gooch had very good games considering the mid field played atrocious.
Howard: What a great game!! Again!! Needs to distribute that ball better but he has saved us again!!
Bradley: Don't understand the Negatives about him. Works his tail off every time he is on the field covering for less than average midfielders mistakes (Lewis,Mastro,Donovan etc...) Sure he makes his own but at least it is because he is running and not because he is avoiding the hard challenges. When Edu came on he finally found his game and although he made some errant passes late he did have some real good possesion that helped us hold on.
Pearce: Was gassed at the end. Pretty hard covering for a out paced Lewis all game will do that for you. Had no help at all down his side from the Mid field or the Lone stikrt we had up top. When he realised that he was not going to get any help he started to not go up field and held his positiion fine the rest of the game even though he had used up almost all of his energy in the first half covering for Mastro and Lewis.

We won and that is great. BB did his job now he can move on I hope and statrt to call in some new blood for the upcoming WCQ's.

[Steve]

Kenny Cooper would have been a disaster last night.

I can't beleive I'm saying this but we need Bornstein at left back. At least when he gets burned he has the speed to recover. Pearce was terrible. It seemed his best tactic was to go down and hope the foul was called.

I was honestly surprised by Cherundolo's play, I expect more from him.

Dempsey and Donovan didn't play well enough for this team to go forward adn I think Clint has really stagnated the last couple of years. He also seemd to get in a bit of a snit with Bradley when he came off.

Ricardo Clark needs to be recalled for the hoem game aginst Guatemala. He'll know what he's there for.

Good result but I am less confident in this team than I was four years ago.

[Mike]

I agree with the "street fight" description of this game. Goff did a poll ahead of time, and I think the "1-0" option won it. Everybody knows that when we go down to those 3rd world hellholes (particularly Guatemala), the game will never be pretty. We didn't play the beautiful game, but we never were going to. In qualifying on the road, it is all about results. Period. End of story. Get your points and go home.

As for Guatemala's feeling that they were robbed, all I can say is that apparently the old Guatemalan Gold is making a strong comeback. Those guys must be high if they think Cabrera's red card was a makeup call. Ruiz, Ramirez, Cabrera, et al are all cheap thugs with no class. I found myself so angry at their antics that I was fruitlessly looking aroubd my living room for a Chapin that I could go give the business to. Screw them all. I hope they enjoy this round, because their world cup dreams stop here.

[brett]

lets be frank guys...

we introduce new faces into a team who is dirty, and we'll see people losing their heads and not playing our game.... you guys can tear down the likes of Ching, Lewis and Mastro all you want (i originally 2nd guessed these callups, but think otherwise now), but the experience they brought to the game made the difference... they kept their heads on their shoulders and kept playing hard...

ill be the first (i think the first) to point out that the way to get a superior talented team to not play their game is to play very physical... and lets also focus that our team has gone away from being a physical and speedy counter team to a more technical team (while still in the course of changing that way)... a team with less talent (guat) has to play physical against a more talented team (USA), and we fall off our game... Guat played the perfect game against us, with assistance of the Ref and his inconsistant calling...

you all saw how Adu lost his cool against the likes of Japan... a technical yet physical team... put him on the field with players constantly taking shots at him and you'll see him injured or carded out of the game... personally looking back i dont know what changes id make (MB going back to europe to rest would be the only change)...

it was a tough game in a tough enviornment... and we need to play like the last 20 min, but all game... all n' all, it was an UGLY game, but we mustered 3 points.... the difference between good and great teams is that great teams can go and play badly but still muster the 3 points...

[Tony in Quakeland]

", but before I go I will leave with this last thought. I know that the 1-0 win in ugly fashion won't be enough for some fans who think that Kenny Cooper and Freddy Adu could have made it a 5-0 USA blowout if only they had been called up, but anyone who assumes that Cooper or Adu would have made this game anything but the tooth-and-nail street fight it was always destined to be just isn't living in reality. Cooper and Adu's chances will come. Wednesday night just wasn't the time to throw in players who haven't been in that kind of environment before."

If this was Bigsoccer, I'd rep you. We'll blow them out with younger players here in the states.

[TCompton]

I thought it was a good game and hard fought. CONCACAF qualifying is nothing like playing Argentina at Giants Stadium.

These group phase games are it for Guatemala. This is as close to the World Cup they'll ever be, which is a little sad for a soccer mad country. The problem is that even with several talented players, they resort to deception and thugishness due to their knowledge that they will not beat the regions top teams on skill alone.

This game will always be ugly. As much as I'd like to see Guatemala get imbarrassed by a 4-0 thumping, that will never happen. Not by the US. Not by Mexico. Not even by Spain, Argentina, or Brazil.

Guatemala plays the "Win at all costs" style of play. They will punch, slap, kick, scrape, and claw their opponents in order to win.

So when I read about how bad the team played, I can't help but wonder how good they really could play in that setting. But that's CONCACAF. Until the Refs start pulling out yellow and red cards for the deceitful schemes teams like Guatemala attempt, it will continue. Beauty and skill is not rewarded. Only winning, no matter the way it was done.

[CPTKevin]

We must eliminate the "stupid" yellow cards (delaying the restart of play by throwing the ball away) by Cherundolo and the one for Howard.

[James]

I love Kenny Cooper's potential. But say what you will about Ching, he played a very disciplined, organized game last night and was very effective in a lot of ways. Much as I think KCJ is a great MLS player and has the potential to be a great US player, no way has he shown the ability to be that disciplined.

And last night, the US needed every bit of discipline it could muster.

[jmac]

I think a lot of people's problem with Bradley is that he is not a No. 10 midfielder, so that (like last night) when he didn't help the team maintain possession or move the ball in the first 60 minutes last night, it is painfully obvious. I guess the issue is that the team is playing their best attacking midfielder, Donovan, at RM, sort of like United playing Ronaldo out wide as well (United also doesn't play with a traditional No. 10). The theory is the player gets more space to operate. But man when it doesn't work right, it looks BAD. Really bad.

But hey, we got 3 points. Fantastic result. And to all the Ching haters out there, Ching was one of the best players on the field last night for the US, especially in the last 30 minutes. So haters back off and STFU.

[hartman]

Things I'm sick of:

1. two defensive mids...seriously, it's CONCACAF. Maybe against el tri.
2. our two most creative players constantly being played out of position (read donovan and dempsey).
3. michael bradley somehow becoming an "automatic" pick...seems like edu should have a claim to some starts.
4. continuing to call in goal shy strikers (aka e.j. and ching). both have had too many chances and NEVER produce.

on the positive, i do think the continuity of the back 4 is a good idea. the more comfortable together the better.

[Al17]

I'm not sure if many of you posting negative comments about Heath Pearce, Cherundolo and Dempsey understand last night's match. Guatemala focused on getting key players out of the game mentally by the use of brute force and as easy as it is for many of us to say "..they know it's coming deal with it..." to actually go through it is another thing. The amount of restraint shown by Heath Pearce and Eddie Lewis is pure discipline. Lemme elbow you a few times and see how long it would take for you to knock the snot outta my mouth ~ and I definitely would have deserved it.

Those of you whom are MLS fans should take exception to what the low life Ruiz did to Tim Howard and make it a point to make his life pure hell when TFC comes to your town. What pissed me off even more was after his cheap shot on Howard, one of his teammates actually tried to score off the foul. No Class at all and enough is enough.

[mcscarlet]

It was like watching Chuck Norris trying to bring his buddies home in a bad '80s movie. What a gutsy performance on a field that had me longing for astro turf, with a ref that made me wish they had called in the MLS officiators and against a team that did not even bother to hide their aggression and animosity. And for the love of God, turn on the lights when there is a soccer game.

To all the new fans that seem to have watched their first CONCACAF qualifier: Welcome aboard! If you want to better understand the tactics of the US in this game, watch any of the Mexico away matches. It isn't much better for them.

I predict the aggregate against the street fighters will be 5-0 US.

[AJ]

Most overrated USMNT players:
1A: Clint Dempsey- disappears in games, has no finishing ability (not a striker), or passing ability

1B: Micheal Bradley: good for 1 bad tackle and yellow card a game, can't hold the ball in the midfield, and has the worst shot accuracy and passing (if you look at all his goals scored for Heerenveen, you would see their rebound type, sloppy goals with no real skill.

[Mike Caramba]

At least Tim Howard is saying what we're all thinking...

[EA]

I pulled a muscle patting myself on the back for what I said about this group before the game.

This was the PERFECT roster for this game.

Our boys took everything the thugs could throw at them, and showed as much restraint as they could.

Beasley wasn't ready for a ton of minutes, but Eddie gave IT ALL for the shirt, and Beasley came in and sealed the deal.

Cherundolo's second yellow was tough to see, but I do get his frustration, after being hacked, shoved and who knows what else that the cameras didn't see. Frankie came in and chased, and pestered and did the things that Frankie does well.

Ching held the ball very well, almost McBride like.

Bradley made a wonderful tactical substition, taking off his two most hot-headed players when things got wild, both of whom were on a yellow (Pablo and Deuce), and got them off the pitch before they got themselves sent off. He quickly and calmly got the team to a 4-4-1, with a new RB and LM to replace those who had been removed (either by ref or thug.)

And bash LD all you'd like, but I saw him repeatedly slow the Guate attack, by getting back and knocking the ball to touch.

This team performed admirably, in an insanely tough environment.

[Angel]

WOW just WOW USA was lucky that didn't loose or came back with a tied. The way USMNT was playing, it was just plain awful. No rythem, no ball movement and Donovan was lost. if you don't have a middle/foward why put donovan on the left. This why Bob Bradley is going to kill us in the world cup if we qualify. Brian Ching and Dempsey Lost no where to be found in the game... Please look for more better players. Just Sad to see the USA to be Outplay by Guatemala.

[Angel]

WOW just WOW USA was lucky that didn't loose or came back with a tied. The way USMNT was playing, it was just plain awful. No rythem, no ball movement and Donovan was lost. if you don't have a middle/foward why put donovan on the left. This why Bob Bradley is going to kill us in the world cup if we qualify. Brian Ching and Dempsey Lost no where to be found in the game... Please look for more better players. Just Sad to see the USA to be Outplay by Guatemala.

[John Leonard]

Despite the U.S. having more talent this was always just going to be a game to get through rather than put on a showcase. Quite frankly the USMNT isn't yet at a caliber to dominate Guatemala when it's in the type of environment it was in last night. With the brawling style of play, the poor lighting and the rowdy crowd I'm just glad no one was seriously injured (it looks like Lewis should be ok) and that they came away with a win of any kind. To expect more of the team right now would probably be asking too much. At the same time, matches like this pull the team together and allow team leaders like Howard and Boca to emerge.

The best part of the night was the late possession sequence for the U.S. (could've used that against the Dutch in the Olympics) which salted away much of the time at the end. It gave me some hope that this type of play could maybe be sustained for longer periods of time. However, passing accuracy, offensive communication, and well-timed runs in general are still lacking on the U.S. side. It was so frustrating to see the U.S. cheaply give up possession throughout the match on hopeless dumps down the field or because of a lack of movement or anticipation towards the pass or because the man with the ball simply had nowhere to go. The U.S. game needs to focus on improving individual technique on the ball, offensive cohesion and greater imagination and sophistication if it's going to advance worldwide. Our defending is better than previous years but also still needs to improve its marking and become more confident and aggressive. Our goalkeeping is often world-class but the rest of our play needs to go up a level.

That said, this was a classic "character-building" match. The USMNT won't face a more hostile environment and they kept their composure while retaining their toughness and competitive edge at the end. Being able to come through in the second half with a well-executed goal (nice pick and great pass) and then hold on for the result will do wonders for the team's confidence and is a good building block for the program in the long-term.

[Raghu]

Good win in a really tough environment. Hat's off to Ives for his pre-game article saying that the Guatemalan on our left flank was gonna give us fits all night (he certainly did).

Can't say enough about Beasley. He's the most underappreciated player on the roster. He's done nothing but get better over the last few years and is our best defender/one of our top attackers - most importantly - He's flat out got speed!!! Rarely do you see 2 way players like him. He's really become a good crosser of the ball as well (evidenced by the corner for the goal). He really showed his composure on the ball.

Don't understand why people hate on him. I've only seen one post today that really talks about how much he means to this team. If he was 100% and started tonight - Pearce wouldn't have struggled as much as he did.

Bradley called in the right line-up. Don't know what people expect from a road match in Central America - it's not an easy task.

How scary good is Edu (he should start).

Boca - Great captain. So consistent for the Nats. He's been nothing but stellar since that lousy ball he played against Ghana.

Lando - Does he get any credit for tracking back to defend? It's pretty impressive - but no one compliments him on it. Although I don't like him on the right flank - as it takes our best finisher out of the offense too much

Bob Bradley should not get grief for Ching/Hejduk/Mastro (although Mastro is a card waiting to happen). Ching showed why he's a player - and Frankie did what he needed to at that time in the match.

If we get a big goal lead in Cuba - then hopefully, Freddy, Cooper, and Jozy can play a couple of the home matches and get some PT and experience.

[brian]

quick trivia: there were four players on the pitch last night who've scored MLS Cup-winning goals. Name them!

[Haig]

Landon, Ching, Ruiz, Pando?

[daniel]

a win on the road in a WC qualifier is something to be proud of. however, all the yellow and red cards the U.S. earned were typical of the kind of lapses in judgement that lead to losses against quality oposition. i am happy about the win, but i want to see the team play smarter even against a bunch of inbred psychopaths like the guatemalan team.

[Ron]

Bunker Bob Bradley continues to show he is not up to running the USMNT. Playing the4 same retreads who feel entitled to their roles.

Dempsey hasn't shown anything since joining Fulham, Eddie Lewis is a shell of what he was, Pearce is not the solution at left back (nor is Bornstein...), Dolo easily overrun and overpowered at RB, Donovan disappearing, MB making reckless tackles and bad passes, too much gaps between the back line and midfield, too much of a bunker mentality.....

Kudos to Tim Howard (thank God!!), DMB, and Mo Edu for bring some shape and bite last nite. Gooch and Boca played well last nite, but they are no Eddie Popes!

We will make it to SA, but we will be three and out again because of the lack of tactical and recruiting ingenuity in our coaching and USSF leadership. Gulati must be fired or we will be stuck in World Cup mediocrity for decades to come!

We have the players and talent, but not the brains and the will to utilize them in a imaginative and sensible way.

Look who's been left out or barely utilized in the buildup to the qualification stages - Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Neven Subotic, Charlie Davies, Kenny Cooper, Danny Califf, Stuart Holden, Bryan Arquez, Lee Nguyen, Edson Buddle, Sal Zizzo, Jay DeMerit. A team of these undercapped players would CRUSH the team of Bob Bradley's pet 11.

It's time to revamp the USSF before we write off another World Cup again! It's time to play to WIN - we have the players and the talent!!!

[Craig]

Wrong, how can you be tired of being satisfied with ugly wins? We haven't *had* ugly wins in this situation before. I'll settle for getting used to winning ugly before we start worrying about winning pretty.

[Dante]

This was a great result for the U.S. and Bradley is doing a great job as coach. You don't go to Central America looking to play attractive attacking soccer. You have to gut out results and that's what the U.S. did, and even got a win in Guatemala for the first time in 20 years! There are a few reasons that hasn't happened before.

Also, anyone calling for Cooper and Adu in this game is just missing the point. Would you like to have Steve Sampson back coaching the national team? He used to call in all of these great players like Michael Mason and David Wagner. Let's not forget the savior that was David Regis. Experience counts for something and that was on display last night. If you missed it, then I don't know what you're watching.

[Mike Caramba]

I agree that a win was what was important, but I am tired of our negative style. No point in flashiness for the sake of flashiness, but our team is talented enough to take on a more attractive, more effective style...a style that doesn't necessitate 2-3 holding mids at all times...a style that doesn't require us to work the ball through the back line so they can launch one over the top and pray...

[Amit]

For everyone who thinks that Brian Ching can't score, when's the last time he had an opportunity that he HAD to bury. I know EJ has, but not Ching. The U.S. forward crop is unsettling, but the lack of offensive output from the midfield is downright horrifying.

[EA]

@Ron

Really? Really? Do some of those players need some PT? Sure. Would they be able to beat the 11 that played last night? Not likely. Could they win a CONCACAF qualifier? Even less likely.

If we played your 11 for the remainder of this qualifying round, we'd be lucky to make the hex, and we certainly wouldn't make the world cup.

Buddle? Nguyen? Arguez? Zizzo?

Wow.

Who is a better right back than Cherundolo? Better left back than Pearce (last night not withstanding)? I'll wait for your answers. Maybe we should throw Drew Moor and Ramiro Corrales back out there.

I think people need to put down the video game controllers and look at life in the real world.

[Mike Caramba]

Cooper's on form.  I am a firm believer that no player should "own" a USMNT spot.I'm not saying experience is useless, but I say we start calling cooper up now so he's experienced when it really counts--the world cup.  I would hate to rely less talented players simply because they have more caps under their belts...

[mark]

Disagree with not playing Cooper and ADu. If not at Guatamala in this round then when will they get the experience?

Throw them in Azteca against MEx in the next round when the stakes are even higher?

Ching continues to show NOTHING Cooper certainly couldnt have been worse

[wrong]

ryan and eugene, thank you for being sensible. this is a team that claims they want to get back to the quarterfinals of the world cup (get back might not be the right term since we've only been there once). do you honestly think a team that celebrates last night's win, gets really excited about losing to spain or tying an argentina team without many starters can be one of the top 8 in the world? no. i'm not saying criticize everything, but dont be blind and say we are improving. we arent. we are the same as arena. and for the person asking what klinnsman would do differently, i'm going to take a crack it.
1- no 2 defensive midfielders. the 4-2-3-1 doesnt work when both d mids cant string passes together. see the difference between france in WC 06 and euro 08. they played the same formation, but it worked in 06 because viera can help to control play, but didnt work in 08 b/c makelele and toulalan both are just ball winners, a lot like any combination of bradley/edu/clark/mastro. - i still stand by the US needed one of those 4 to be partnered with someone creative, like donovan, dempsey (who has said multiple times he wants to play centrally), or feilhaber.
2- wouldn't be set in a lineup by the 1st WC qualifier. we have had the same lineup all along, and i dont see anything changing anytime soon (except maybe bornstein getting a few minutes)
3- not pair 2 big dumb idiots at center back. just use one of them for enforcement.

im proud of the USA, and i want us to do well. i refuse to believe we arent as talented as a team like russia or australia (WC 06)who plays real soccer, not the garbage hunker down defense and set piece goals that we play.

BB is good, but not great. he should be running the olympic team or training. nuff said.

[martha]

For everyone who thinks that Brian Ching can't score, when's the last time he had an opportunity that he HAD to bury. I know EJ has, but not Ching. The U.S. forward crop is unsettling, but the lack of offensive output from the midfield is downright horrifying.

Posted by: Amit | August 21, 2008 at 11:26 AM

Ching had a few chances that he out and out butchered as usual. Hes just horrible adds nothing,

[Curtis Spiteri]

Winning in a calderon like Flores Stadium during a WCQ is what will give some of the new faces the "experience" they need to understand when playing an Centtral American countries.

For the vets like Ching, Landy, Beasley, Boca and Howard, they knew what to expect and we definitely depended on their expereince.

For all the new Euro based players and flashy young faces, this was a good education that they're not playing in clean surrounding in front on soccer enthusiasts, playing in Central America is like playing in the Thunder Dome. Two teams in, one team gets out.

Concacaf is not as good as other conferderations, but playing a meaningful game in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica is not soccer, it's survival.

[Tony in Quakeland]

Interesting how some people complain about great efforts that lead to unsatisfying results (the Olympics, Argentina) saying that there are no moral victories, only results.
Yet when we get a result in difficult circumstances, they complain that it wasn’t pretty. There is just no winning with some so called fans.
They showed great effort and great character I tough circumstances. They won a qualifier in a place they haven’t won in 20 years. TWO U23s played in the game. Bradley made tactical adjustments and substitutions that worked. So of course we’re complaining …

[Mason]

CPTKevin-
I don't think that 'dolo's first caution was for Unsporting Behavior (time-wasting). It looked to me like the Ref was writing him up for "Dissent by word or action". The throw-in came from right where he spiked the ball, so I can only presume that the ref didn't like his display.

That said, he was right. The ball had gone off the Guat, but the ref was in a bad position to see it.

[Max Beaver]

I went to the "Mateo Flores" last night.
Frankly, Guatemalan team deserved so much more. USA did not offer game and found a most fortunate opportunity. Surinam referee??? Do they have a professional soccer league?

I guess he needed to score some points to get his visa...shameful performance.

Good thing was being picked up by the Team's bus afterwards.

[green]

Tony, I'm with you. It's getting old as hell reading all the whining lately.

[michael]

Ricardo Clark should have been given the Presidential Medal of Honor for kicking Ruiz. I hate that guy so much, and after last night I am glad he is now playing in Canada. What a worthless human being.

[Dave]

Yes, young talent needs playing time; that's what friendlies are for. But last night's game was not the time to bring on inexperienced players, as Ives has said. Ching is not my favorite player, but he did a good job last night of doing what needed to be done. Altidore? He could have been killed out there. For all the Mastroeni hate here, who else do you want out on the pitch in a brawl-game? He did a great job of shutting down attacks in front of the defense, was never intimidated, and held his own against the very physical play (something the younger, more talented kids we have in the wings might not have been able to do in that situation). R. Clark? perhaps, perhaps not. We know that Pablo can handle it (whether you like him or not). The subs were brilliant, and getting Edu playing time that way was great; by the time he was in he knew what was going on and how physical the game was. Nobody was perfect last night; you can't expect every pass to connect to a teammate.

I will say that Donovan was the biggest disappointment for me. Did he track back to help the defense at times? Yes, he did. But he did not live up to his role of playmaker or make an impact on the game, especially in the second half. And for someone who is arguably (an argument for later) our best player, it's unacceptable for him to totally disappear in these games.

[andy b.]

Tony in Quakeland--
Couldn't agree more. We Nats fans need to learn a little something about patience. Sure, Pearce had a bad game-- he's young, and he had ONE bad game, in a miserable environment which (correct me if I'm wrong) he was being exposed to for the first time. I don't think Bundesliga play is quite like what he saw last night. That place, and that opponent, was clinically insane. And while we didn't look great, WE WON. We did things I don't remember US teams being able to do in the past-- for instance, bringing a guy like Beas off the bench to come into the game and have him play really, really smart possession ball. So while I'm not thrilled, I'm also not displeased-- our guys deserve a lot of credit for what they accomplished.

[NOLA soccer fan]

I cant get over it...the guatamalan player flies elbow first into eddie lewis and they claim it was a makeup call...

blood was pouring out of his head, and they have the balls to claim it was because dolo got 2 yellows.

[wahleyed]

I know we're beating this to death, and I'm no expert, but...

All our players seemed to know that Guat's Keeper was shaky and we launched a lot of 25 yard shots at him -- they couldn't seem to be able to wait to get at him, but in doing so made it easier on him.

I think Pablo settled in and played well in the first half -- maybe not great, but was the only player able to settle things and keep the ball in some ugly stretches.

Beasley came on with fresh legs and settled the wing and created our best chances.

Ching was the man in the last 20 minutes. He was everywhere, holding players, the ball and keeping Guat from putting combinations together.

Howard? what more to say? incredible.

As for the young-uns -- I'll side with those advocating for experience. Youth is always attractive (in all sports and life), but for a match like last night, give me experience. Its also impossible to disprove assurances about how great it would have been with players who did not play. So, its an easy argument to make and its made all the time (look up 'quarterback controversy' in wikipedia).

[Tim]

Well, let's be clear that the Guatemalans played their usual and customary hacking style, which I fully expected them to do. Their skill set is not as polished as the U.S., so they try to compensate with force. I will give them the fact that they do have some speed on the wings, and abused Pearce all night long.

I was disappointed that we seemed to want to resort to the long ball a lot. I recall one long ball that Bradley played, some 40+yards, that went to absolutely NOBODY, basically a give away when we needed to be maintaining possession late.

Howard was HUGE. There's no question that he's our #1 keeper, and should be for some time to come.

Everyone talks about how Bradley has disappeared lately, but what about Dempsey?? I've seen him do some amazing things, and his ball touch has been very impressive in the past. Lately though, he seems to have lost some of his flare, and is content with "jogging around" up front.

Donovan is clearly not at home at R midfield. Bradley was yelling at him all night to come back to the ball. He needs to be either up front, or in a central attacking midfield position.

Having said all that, this still was a great game to come away with 3 points. People forget that we had not won in our previous 9 trips down there. Ugly, yes, and some on this thread have criticized the ugliness. I will say in response that I think any top team in the world would struggle on that DARK, muddy, slow field against a team that is content with tackling late, coming in studs up, kicking the keeper in the face, flopping, grabbing and pulling at jerseys all night, etc...

[Reid]

Max - some of the greatest football players the world has ever known have come from Suriname

[Max Beaver]

I know, but they never played in Suriname, they played in the netherlands...

[lassidawg]

Why is everyone so concerned about the line up that WON this game. I am betting if someone were to go back and look up the line up for the first tough qualifier and then compare it to what started in the world cup, I am guessing it was a lot different. This is a long 18 month process that will require all sorts of different line ups.
Beasley will start when he is healthy, he hasn't played a full game for a while. Edu will be starting soon.
My main concern is Donovan disappearing, but then again I don't really care today, because we WON, WON, Won. 3 points down

[Reid]

i had no problem with the refs calls but i think he should have made it clear to both teams that diving wont be tolerated from the beginning. Both teams were going down at the slightest touch.
No ref is ever gonna be perfect. I thought all in all he was fine

[Pete]

I agree that we were outplayed, got lucky, and and not many players had good performances at all, but, um, WE WON THE GAME! Remind me, again, when was the last time we won in Guatemala during WCQ? Oh, that's right, never. Never.

I swear many of you people have never watched WCQ before. That was the most difficult game of the round and we just won, pretty much ensuring qualification for the hexagonal. Just for a little history lesson, do you know what happened in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, the one all U.S. supporters hold up as some testament to how great we are, or can be? It took us to the final game of the semifinal round to secure advancement, and we only got it after winning in Barbados when the score was still tied in the 63rd minute. That's right, we were 27 minutes away from being eliminated before even getting to the qualifying finals.

I feel like some people here will never be satisfied until we are Spain or Argentina -- and in a way I won't either -- but I'm not under any illusions that this is coming in the next decade. That doesn't mean we can't compete and accomplish a lot, including advancing in the World Cup, it just means we're going to have to do it by playing as a team and scraping out results when playing teams with superior talent, or in terrible conditions, or in extremely hostile environments. All these "saviors" people are touting are comical. Yes, Adu has talent and will be an upgrade, and will almost certainly be a significant part of the team come 2010, but he couldn't get minutes at Benfica -- and now you want him to not report to his club team after being away on Olympic duty, a tournament that almost no one takes seriously. Really? We're really calling for Buddle and Sal Zizzo and Lee Nguyen to be a part of this team? Seriously? People need a reality check.

Unless we are allowed to buck FIFA rules field the FIRE's full squad, we ain't winning the World Cup in 2010, no matter what lineup we put out there.

[Heffe]

Typical Ruiz. What a POS. The behavior he showed last night is the reason most teams (except TFC) won't take him, and don't like him. Howard was completely right and justified to call Ruiz out after the game.

[Jacobo]

So I was at the game last night. Yes I'm Guatemalan and here is the thing.

You can say that it was a dog fight and it was on both sides of the ball.

I've seen replays of Gustavo Cabrera's hit and he was red carded correctly. As was Cherundolo's first card for spiking the ball it's in the rule book and the second one for just grabbing Freddy Garcia's leg, he even knew he was getting ejected after his foul look at his reaction.

The beef we have with the referee basically comes down on 2 plays. Fist play is in the first half when a header of Mario Rodriguez clearly hits the hand of a US defender and there is no penalty kick called and the second is a foul called at half pitch, when Guatemala still had the ball and had a breakaway with Mario Rodriguez, the call brought the ball back.

I just want to say also that Ruiz's kick on Howard was a close play, and you play to win. It's a divided ball that he has to run to get. If he wanted to hurt him it could have gone a lot worse for him.

But I always think you can't blame it all on the referee you have to learn to win despite bad performances with the man in black. Our lack of accuracy in the couple of plays we had cost us that game.

Also I think we did play better than the US team. But congratulations on you guys winning (barely sorry had to do that)and we will see you on the away game.

[JakeTheSnake]

Good win in a hostile environment. Not pretty, but effective. Had Adu played, it's possible he'd be in a wheelchair today. Nothing against Adu, but I don't think he is sturdy enough to play in that kind of a game. The midfield looked like a fricking war zone with bodies flying all over the place. Adu is better suited for playing against teams that respect the game which is why he'll be an integral part of the World Cup squad. Guatemala is a low class band of thugs with no respect for the beautiful game.

[BJR]

Ives,

Will you ever be critical of BB? I'd feel better about your USMNT analysis if you ever ventured to the critical side.

Your analysis of things not USMNT related always seems nicely balanced, providing both criticism and compliment where due.

[brett]

AJ- MB has bad shot accuracy?? hmm, i thought most his shots were in fact on goal... lets not forget that his 30 yrd shots were the most dangerous part of the game for the US (apart from the goal).... MB can keep shooting for all i care...im glad to see some yanks actually trying to score, compared to the typical constant laying off we usually do...

thats the one reason i liked R.Clark... actually willing to shoot the ball...

[brett]

Jacobo - the call back was justified as the whistle was blown immediately (or so it seemed)... if i were a guat. fan i would be more upset with the "off sides" on your left side... that guy wouldve been wide open with a 1 v 1 chance with Timmy...

[Thom]

I thought with the exception of not giving Ruiz at least one yellow the refereeing was quite good. Dolo got what he deserved full stop. He was acting like a baby on his first yellow and doing a smart if highly illegal grab on his 2nd.

The referee sholud be rewarded for his bravery and eyesighton the red card to the Guatemala player and even considering even the TV crew missed it until the replay.

Pissed about Canada drawing. I really hate Jamiaca for all the same 3 reasons i hate Carlos Ruiz- dirty, classsless and dirty.

[Jason]

Something else to thing about. The USMNT barely had any practice together leading up to this match with the horrible weather in Florida and Guatemala.

[Yossarian]

I'm not sure if I was watching a different game than everyone else, but I don't get the Pearce bashing at all. How many goals did he give up? Zero. How many dangerous opportunities did he give up? I can't recall many, despite Guatemala having their best attackers on his side and them constantly funneling the ball to his side AND the horrible U.S. midfield constantly turning the ball over to the Guatemalans, SPECIFICALLY Eddie Lewis who, while I'm glad he's all right, was entirely awful and turned the ball over almost every time he touched it and was frequently out of place early, making touches in the middle and on the right side of the field. Pearce was left on an island, under constant pressure, gave up no goals and few truly dangerous chances and you guys are COMPLAINING (worst run-on sentence ever, I know)??? The U.S. defenders always get a ton of flack despite generally holding superior squads to one goal or less when under sustained pressure due to the fact that the midfield and forwards can't hold onto the ball and play this ludicrous long ball style. The crap that Gooch and Boca and Pearce get on these boards is ridiculous.