soccer - USMNT update

[PTS]

Reminder: USMNT kicks off Gold Cup tomorrow night at 8pm PT (11pm ET) in Portland versus Belize. Should be an ass-kicking. In Group A, Mexico lost to Panama yesterday (they are crumbling right now) and Martinque beat Canada on a last second screamer. Winner of this Gold Cup will play the winner of the 2015 Gold Cup for the right to go to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

 

US demolished Guatemala 6-0 three nights ago in a friendly. The big story was the comeback of Donovan, Holden and Onyewu.

 

Donovan scored two (50th and 51st career goals) while Stu Holden was dropping picture perfect passes all over the field in the 45 minutes he played. I was skeptical of Holden being able to return to his pre-injury form but those 45 minutes have me and many Bolton fans very encouraged. Klinsmann has said he is very excited about Holden and Friday's game proved why. If injuries don't become a problem, the US will be stacked at midfield.

 

Gooch still looks a bit slower than before but he won EVERY single ball in the air. I think if he can keep getting games, he will be in Brazil. His size, toughness and aerial prowess are needed.

 

The other great showing was by Mix Diskerud who I rate very highly. He entered the game in the second half at CM with Holden and they both were vital to orchestrating the five goals in the final 45 minutes. As I mentioned the US is looking pretty damn good in the midfield. Moving Donovan up to a central forward role (like they did in the second half) improves the attacking options.

 

Donovan even stated after the game that this cycle will have the most talented depth of any he's been apart of. If Klinsmann can shore up the backline, US can make noise in Brazil. Especially if they get a good group draw.

Edited July 8, 2013 by PTS

[Pete]

Reminder: USMNT kicks off Gold Cup tomorrow night at 8pm PT (11pm ET) in Portland versus Belize. Should be an ass-kicking. In Group A, Mexico lost to Panama yesterday (they are crumbling right now) and Martinque beat Canada on a last second screamer. Winner of this Gold Cup will play the winner of the 2015 Gold Cup for the right to go to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

 

US demolished Guatemala 6-0 three nights ago in a friendly. The big story was the comeback of Donovan, Holden and Onyewu.

 

Donovan scored two (50th and 51st career goals) while Stu Holden was dropping picture perfect passes all over the field in the 45 minutes he played. I was skeptical of Holden being able to return to his pre-injury form but those 45 minutes have me and many Bolton fans very encouraged. Klinsmann has said he is very excited about Holden and Friday's game proved why. If injuries don't become a problem, the US will be stacked at midfield.

 

Gooch still looks a bit slower than before but he won EVERY single ball in the air. I think if he can keep getting games, he will be in Brazil. His size, toughness and aerial prowess are needed.

 

The other great showing was by Mix Diskerud who I rate very highly. He entered the game in the second half at CM with Holden and they both were vital to orchestrating the five goals in the final 45 minutes. As I mentioned the US is looking pretty damn good in the midfield. Moving Donovan up to a central forward role (like they did in the second half) improves the attacking options.

 

Donovan even stated after the game that this cycle will have the most talented depth of any he's been apart of. If Klinsmann can shore up the backline, US can make noise in Brazil. Especially if they get a good group draw.

good to hear. Thanks for update

[ajzepp]

Thanks, PTS!

 

Glad to hear the GOOOOOOOCH is back.

[ajzepp]

Did the Premiership change it's name again?

[meazza]

Did the Premiership change it's name again?

 

What do you mean?

 

It's called the English Premier league. The sponsor probably changes.

[LewPort71]

A bit off topic but somewhat interesting. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-rt-uk-soccer-africa-nigeria-20130709,0,977367.story

[Cugalabanza]

USA beat Costa Rica last night 1-0 to go undefeated in the group. It was Brek Shea getting the winner late on a great pass from Donovan. They are currently on an eight game winning streak which is a record for the USMNT.

 

Next they face El Salvador in the quarterfinal on Sunday 7/21.

[ajzepp]

This team is going to be solid by the WC next year...the legend of Klinsi is in motion, baby!

[ajzepp]

I'm convinced that we're in the process of turning the corner under Klinsmann now...aside from a need to finish better, this team is playing completely differently than they were two years ago. I've never seen this team create opportunities as they have been these last several matches. We have some depth, we're playing solid team ball, we're anticipating well, and at times we're absolutely dominating. If there are any more of these idiots who are critical of the way Klinsi is doing things, they can be shown the door...this train has left the station and we're on the way to legitimacy on the world stage. No more of these inflated "4th best in the world" jokes of a rating...we're on the way to being a REAL threat. Still a long way to go, and I'm not saying we're on par with the Italians, Germans, Spanish, or Brazilians, but we're on the way to being in the conversation.

 

I love that they didn't let up today against El Salvador. They did exactly what those teams I mentioned above would do - they played a full 90 and they played their game until the final whistle. We'll take out either Costa Rica or Honduras on 7/24 and face Mexico in the Gold Cup finals. The two best teams in this conference, just as it should be, and I'm confident that we'll come out on top.

[Cugalabanza]

Great game. They are just rolling against the middling CONCACAF teams. Honduras will be tougher on Wednesday. Hope they keep it going.

Edited July 22, 2013 by Cugalabanza

[ajzepp]

Great game. They are just rolling against the middling CONCACAF teams. Honduras will be tougher on Wednesday. Hope they keep it going.

 

Sooner or later we're going to have a let down game, which will probably be a good thing since we need occasional opportunities for growth (lol), but I'd be surprised if it came in these next two matches. The scene in Cowboys stadium on Wed is going to be epic!!

[John Adams]

The Donavon haters must be having a hard time of it eh? He's the best player on this team by a mile and that was before yesterday's match.

 

It looks like the US is starting to put some distance between them and the also-rans. That's what they need to do. To make the next step, they need a lot better players. Their current style--longball counterattack--is easy for a real team to stop. They have not proven that they can string together good sequences of passes in the midfield and dominate possession (they need 3 more Michael Bradleys). When they can start doing that, they will be reaching a real turning point. Still, happy to see the team growing into a perennial WC qualifier and at least have a chance of an upset of a better team here or there.

Edited July 23, 2013 by John Adams

[ajzepp]

Yep, that's the one thing that Klinsmann can't remedy immediately - the talent level. He can put together the best group of players that will be able to thrive within his system, but it's going to take a while for us to cultivate players who are naturally more talented. But we can get a whole lot more mileage out of the talent we do have with Klinsi in charge than we could with Bradley or even Arena.

[Cugalabanza]

I think talent is becoming less of an issue. The core players are very solid: Tim Howard, Besler, Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, Altidore. Competition is heating up to fill the remaining spots. The encouraging thing is how players are responding. A lot of guys on this B-squad for the Gold Cup are making things complicated (a good problem to have). Corona, Goodson, Holden, Diskerud, Beckerman, Eddie Johnson. Not to mention, the U.S. seems to always have a wealth of good goalkeepers.

 

The only positions that worry me are the outside backs. Beasley has done well there lately, but I just don't trust him against top teams. And there are lingering questions about Cherundolo and Chandler on the other side. I just don't know who our best options are right now.

[LewPort71]

Wed July 24..

 

USA vs. Honduras at 7:00

 

followed by

 

Mexico vs. Panama at 10:00.

 

The Mexican fan base will be the largest....

Edited July 23, 2013 by LewPort71

[ajzepp]

I think talent is becoming less of an issue. The core players are very solid: Tim Howard, Besler, Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, Altidore. Competition is heating up to fill the remaining spots. The encouraging thing is how players are responding. A lot of guys on this B-squad for the Gold Cup are making things complicated (a good problem to have). Corona, Goodson, Holden, Diskerud, Beckerman, Eddie Johnson. Not to mention, the U.S. seems to always have a wealth of good goalkeepers.

 

The only positions that worry me are the outside backs. Beasley has done well there lately, but I just don't trust him against top teams. And there are lingering questions about Cherundolo and Chandler on the other side. I just don't know who our best options are right now.

 

Beasley is definitely predisposed to boneheadedness, but I honestly never truly appreciated his speed until this last match against El Salvador. The dude was just FLYING.

 

And yeah, the depth we're developing is phenomenal...combine that with Klinsmann's brilliant soccer mind and you have the ingredients for a very dangerous team in Brazil next year.

 

Can't wait for tomorrow night!!

[PTS]

Still not sure why CONCACAF plays both semi-final games at the same venue, hours apart. They essentially design the tournament so the USA will always play Mexico in the finals. I think it's safe to say that most of the stadium will be empty when US takes on Honduras and it will start to fill in toward the end of the second half when the Mexican fans stroll in. That said, this is CONCACAF. I shouldn't expect anything else. I know the USSF has asked for more control over the ticketing situation so they can get the supporter groups taken care of.

 

I'm sure there will be more than a few dual-national Mexican-American fans. I've been to two USA-MEX games, both 2-0 for the good guys. Each game we saw plenty of green shirts being taken off late in the games to reveal US jerseys.

 

As for the games, this might be the best I've seen the US ever play. They are firing on all cylinders and I'd expect at least a 2-3 goal victory. As for Mexico, they are simply a mess. They will have to claw their way to victory like they did against Trinidad in the quarters. I think they go to extra time with Mexico eventually beating Panama.

Edited July 24, 2013 by PTS

[Cugalabanza]

Really looking forward to both games tonight. I agree it's a weird way to schedule it. Hurts the U.S. support.

 

I really want to see a USA vs. Mexico final, but that's far from assured.

 

This really is an awesome time to be a USMNT fan. They've been dicking around at the same plateau for so long, it's great to see the level of play increase so significantly. Have to give Klinsmann a ton of credit.

 

 

(here's hoping I don't have to eat these words tomorrow morning with an "oops, they blew it" post.

[ajzepp]

Really looking forward to both games tonight. I agree it's a weird way to schedule it. Hurts the U.S. support.

 

I really want to see a USA vs. Mexico final, but that's far from assured.

 

This really is an awesome time to be a USMNT fan. They've been dicking around at the same plateau for so long, it's great to see the level of play increase so significantly. Have to give Klinsmann a ton of credit.

 

 

(here's hoping I don't have to eat these words tomorrow morning with an "oops, they blew it" post.

 

I really think we need to expect an "oops" comign up soon. They've been on a nice streak here, but in order to take another step forward they're likely going to need to stumble, dust themselves off, and then come out ahead in terms of their growth as a team. It's a pattern that most teams on the rise will go through and I'm just preparing for it now lol.

 

I'm just glad that Klinsi didn't give in to all the BS that some people - some very hasty, negative people - were dishing out. Those of us who understand the stark differences between American soccer and the soccer that the best clubs/countries in the world play knew this wouldn't be some quick fix. This isn't bringing Bill Parcells or Nick Saban in to right the ship and start winning championships. We need an entire uprooting of our soccer culture and we need to plant some seeds that will take hold over the long term. That's exactly what I saw in the El Salvador match and in some of these more recent matches...the very early signs of some new roots taking hold.

 

Hell, the game of soccer itself is rooted in patience, and that's what we need with our USMNT...and to a lesser extent, the MLS.

[LewPort71]

I hope that Landon D and Eddie Johnson enjoy their trip to Brazil next summer. Good luck to the men's team on Sunday. I wonder if Herr Klinsmann swore at the Ref in auf Deutsch or in English.