Cugalabanza Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Wed. 4/2 at 10pm ET, on ESPN2. I think this will be a good one. It's getting down to the wire for WC preparations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) That was a fun one. 2-2 final. USA dominated the first half, then got soft in the second. Should have had the 3-2 win, but the winning goal was disallowed by a truly awful offside call. They were absolutely robbed on that. The no call on the trip of Julian Green on the edge of the penalty box shortly after was almost as bad. Michael Bradley was the best player on the field. Please let him stay healthy throughout this summer. He's unquestionably the most important part of the USMNT at this point. Donovan came on in the second half and looked out of shape. This is troubling. I hope he gets his legs back soon because his playmaking will be needed. Omar Gonzalez looked like a chump in too many instances. I'm thinking Clarence Goodson could steal that spot from him next to Besler in the back. The outside back positions remain unclear. Beltran looked awful on the right and Parkhurst was only slightly better on the other side. Beckerman continued to make a strong case for being Bradley's partner in the middle of the field. He's such a good stopper--it really allows Bradley to shine as the point guard of the attack. Dempsey looked good. Wondo(*w)lowski got yet another goal. I don't know this guy's secret. I don't think he has the skills to do well against top competition, but he keeps scoring. I don't get it. I think he will be on the plane to Brazil. Julian Green looked green. He had the one good move late that should have earned a free kick just outside the box. Overall, I like his energy, but he looked clumsy and/or nervous most of the time. Edited April 3, 2014 by Cugalabanza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 but the winning goal was disallowed by a truly awful offside call. That sums up about 70% of all the soccer games I've watched in my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Oh, good. I was afraid no one was going to reply in here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey greco Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Michael Bradley was wonderful in the first half. The team looked great when they were allowed to funnel everything between the boxes to him. Mexico took that away in the second half and you saw the results. It's too bad that the rest of the team is so lacking in what will physically be his prime world cup year. No other player can influence the game as well as he can in the box-to-box role. If Klinsmann plays him as a defensive midfielder he should be fired. He's obviously better than Jones in the offensive role and Beckerman looked fine as the holding midfielder. Other players I thought were decent were Beckerman, Rimando and Yedlin. That's really about it. Wondo was ok I guess, got in the right position for the goal but didn't really impact the game outside of that play. Dempsey made a couple of nice plays but was clearly affected by the physicality brought by Mexico in the second half and was invisible for long stretches. Really the whole team was thrown when Mexico got physical, which was sad and a bad sign for the world cup. Green was what you'd expect from a kid in his position-but I hope he got chewed out for his responsibity on the second Mexico goal. Parkhurst, Beltran, Gonzales were ****. Belser, meh-not bad I guess. I don't know if they get a point in the World Cup. The backline is a horror show even taking into account the likely starters and I don't think Klinsmann's narrow setup helps them. They will require top-form versions of Dempsey and Donovan to have a chance, as they will have to outscore teams, and outside of Bradley those two are the only world-class offensive talents in the player pool. Klinsy's static offensive tactics also don't play to their strengths. The strikers are also complete garbage-EJ's goal should have counted, but he's second-rate. Wondo isn't even that. Altidore, unfortunately, is Altidore: a hold-up player who can't get possession because he's out of shape and has the first touch of a cinderblock wall. Johannson may be ok...but I think it's gonna be ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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