"And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ...am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
My god!...what have I done?" -- Talking Heads, 'Once in a Lifetime'
This morning, Sven Goran-Eriksson, when the Mexican press is calling for your Swedish cranium on a pike, channel your inner David Byrne ... same as it ever was. (Hands off the over-sized suit, that's my ultimate Halloween trump card.)
USMNT 2, Mexico 0
Could it be any other way? At Columbus, Ohio, no less?
Fittingly the U.S. broke a 0-0 deadlock -- which I will admit scared me for much of the half -- via a goal from the right corner. This was the same way DaMarcus Beasley sealed the U.S.'s trip to Germany three years ago -- except instead of scoring the goal he set it up.
Actually, the much-maligned Landon Donovan deserves a heap of credit for setting up the goal, breaking away from his marker (Izrael Martinez) and sending the ball back in front of goal to Oguchi Onyewu, who's rocket header was stopped by Oswaldo Sanchez, but poked in by Michael Bradley.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this was pretty much the same way Bradley scored his first senior international goal in a game against Sweden last year.
Bradley will get a lot of the platitudes Thursday and going forward, but Wednesday's win had Donovan's stamp all over it -- even without the balding one adding to his U.S.-record total. He set up the second goal by Bradley in the 92nd minute, taking a ball from Jozy Altidore at midfield (via a good advantage call) and cut inside at the edge of the area to find the coach's son unmarked. And yes, Dirty Sanchez probably should have saved it, but nobody feels bad for him, right? (Bradley goal, while good, wasn't as good as this one.)
And throughout the match Donovan drew two, three and more dudes in green shirts. (Fool me eight times, shame on me.)
Nobody in the U.S. camp feels bad for Rafa Marquez either. It's a minor miracle match official Carlos Batres sent the Mexican captain straight off for a Johnny Lawrence studs-up karate kick to an exposed, in-the-air Tim Howard. (Irony alert -- Batres is from Guatemala!)
And what can you say about Howard. His save in the first or second minute on Gio Dos Santos changed the game completely. Granged, Dos Santos totally fluffed the chance and barely got a hit on it. Still, Howard laid his body on the line and (Irony alert again) will miss March's road qualifier with El Salvador for picking up a yellow card for time wasting in the Marquez aftermath.
Let's just hope David Moyes wasn't watching at that moment.
Generally I could nitpick this game apart -- the slow U.S. start and the indifferent attitude ahead 1-0 in the second half -- you know what? As I've said, it's was simply about the result tonight. Not to toot my own horn, but I picked the Bob Bradley XI and you got the game from those players you'd expect. They were what we thought they were.
* Beasley flashed moments and was at his best in a free-ranging role.
* Clint Dempsey continues to be wasted on the right wing, even if he improves at the position at Roy Hodgson's Fulham.
* Brian Ching, in the ultimate irony alert, is the assumed new No. 1 U.S. forward for everything except his goal scoring ability.
* Oneywu is still on threat on set plays, but sometimes a liability on defense and his clearances ought to come with a GPS.
* Frankie Hedjuk runs hard and gives a 110 percent effort.
* Heath Pearce continues his 0.0 VORP at the left back position, keeping the spot warm until an alien falls to earth in the form of Dani Alves and a U.S. passport.
Perhaps the only revelation from Wednesday's game was that Sacha Kljestan seemed overmatched, but even that's not a huge surprise. The bigger surprise was he shed his homeless man's locks.
There were plenty of times in the first half I -- believe it or not -- pined for a holding player like Claudio Reyna so the U.S. could get it's bearings. The first 20 minutes were so frantic, you just felt El Tri might nick one.
Those first minutes were nervy, nervy times. If Nery 'Burt' Castillo doesn't pull up lame in the 34th minute, this game maybe has a different outcome. I simply don't like the speed Mexico has against the U.S. defense.
I also worried, until the Bradley goal before the half, how the U.S. would find a way to crack through the Mexican defense. Kicking it long wasn't working because of the wind. Bradley had selected an ultra conservative bench -- the only attacking option was Jozy Altidore. If the game played out 0-0 it absolutely screamed Freddy Adu.
There was no Plan B.
Everything, though, cracked the right for the U.S. and there's no faulting that. Mexico slowed down and the U.S. amped up its possession game and cashed in a set piece -- as usual.
Meanwhile, Mexico didn't seem to have a clue. Maybe the only thing Sven was missing from his plan of attack was Benny Hill music, because aside from that one set play where the guy got behind Pearce and the ball somehow didn't find the back of Howard's net, Mexico never looked much like scoring.
The U.S. still has a lot of shortcomings, and with this current core we've seen pretty much all it can do. To me, Bob Bradley still has a lot of Herm Edwards in him, in that he does all the right things motivating the team -- up until when the game starts. The players, though, did the jobs he described. It wasn't flashy but it banked three glorious points.
That said, there's no pooh-poohing the 2-0 win over Mexico. We added to Mexico's misery is all the better. It's not more than a 50-50 bet that Sven is still around when the U.S. heads down to the Azteca in August.
Miscellany
This just in -- Brett Favre is still retired. ... Good U.S. supporters in Columbus, which ought to be the de facto home field along with RJK. ... Jozy had a bad giveaway on his first touch of the game, he then helped set up the second goal via the ref's advantage call. ... It dawned on me that Dos Santos -- who did boot Hedjuk in the face -- is a young Donovan. He's got speed to burn, but doesn't seem able to put it all together for Mexico. ... As longtime TOP contributor 30f mentioned during the live blog, does finishing first in CONCACAF merit the U.S. a better seed for the World Cup or at least avoid the 2006 Group of Death foursome? ... Suffice to say, Crew Stadium is now our Azteca, without the smog, obviously. ... Again, just to alert you again like ESPN -- Brett Favre is still retired.
Final thoughts
Three points in the bank. What more do we need to say? Wednesday wasn't a night about experimenting.
Bradley didn't throw out a roster that was going to make us nerds go all gooey and soft inside. It was efficient, tactical and designed to get a result.
If Sven gets the sword, all the better.
That 11 without a win on U.S. soil. I'm pretty sure that means CONCACAF is ours.
Time for Lost.
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ...am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
My god!...what have I done?" -- Talking Heads, 'Once in a Lifetime'
This morning, Sven Goran-Eriksson, when the Mexican press is calling for your Swedish cranium on a pike, channel your inner David Byrne ... same as it ever was. (Hands off the over-sized suit, that's my ultimate Halloween trump card.)
USMNT 2, Mexico 0
Could it be any other way? At Columbus, Ohio, no less?
Fittingly the U.S. broke a 0-0 deadlock -- which I will admit scared me for much of the half -- via a goal from the right corner. This was the same way DaMarcus Beasley sealed the U.S.'s trip to Germany three years ago -- except instead of scoring the goal he set it up.
Actually, the much-maligned Landon Donovan deserves a heap of credit for setting up the goal, breaking away from his marker (Izrael Martinez) and sending the ball back in front of goal to Oguchi Onyewu, who's rocket header was stopped by Oswaldo Sanchez, but poked in by Michael Bradley.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this was pretty much the same way Bradley scored his first senior international goal in a game against Sweden last year.
Bradley will get a lot of the platitudes Thursday and going forward, but Wednesday's win had Donovan's stamp all over it -- even without the balding one adding to his U.S.-record total. He set up the second goal by Bradley in the 92nd minute, taking a ball from Jozy Altidore at midfield (via a good advantage call) and cut inside at the edge of the area to find the coach's son unmarked. And yes, Dirty Sanchez probably should have saved it, but nobody feels bad for him, right? (Bradley goal, while good, wasn't as good as this one.)
And throughout the match Donovan drew two, three and more dudes in green shirts. (Fool me eight times, shame on me.)
Nobody in the U.S. camp feels bad for Rafa Marquez either. It's a minor miracle match official Carlos Batres sent the Mexican captain straight off for a Johnny Lawrence studs-up karate kick to an exposed, in-the-air Tim Howard. (Irony alert -- Batres is from Guatemala!)
And what can you say about Howard. His save in the first or second minute on Gio Dos Santos changed the game completely. Granged, Dos Santos totally fluffed the chance and barely got a hit on it. Still, Howard laid his body on the line and (Irony alert again) will miss March's road qualifier with El Salvador for picking up a yellow card for time wasting in the Marquez aftermath.
Let's just hope David Moyes wasn't watching at that moment.
Generally I could nitpick this game apart -- the slow U.S. start and the indifferent attitude ahead 1-0 in the second half -- you know what? As I've said, it's was simply about the result tonight. Not to toot my own horn, but I picked the Bob Bradley XI and you got the game from those players you'd expect. They were what we thought they were.
* Beasley flashed moments and was at his best in a free-ranging role.
* Clint Dempsey continues to be wasted on the right wing, even if he improves at the position at Roy Hodgson's Fulham.
* Brian Ching, in the ultimate irony alert, is the assumed new No. 1 U.S. forward for everything except his goal scoring ability.
* Oneywu is still on threat on set plays, but sometimes a liability on defense and his clearances ought to come with a GPS.
* Frankie Hedjuk runs hard and gives a 110 percent effort.
* Heath Pearce continues his 0.0 VORP at the left back position, keeping the spot warm until an alien falls to earth in the form of Dani Alves and a U.S. passport.
Perhaps the only revelation from Wednesday's game was that Sacha Kljestan seemed overmatched, but even that's not a huge surprise. The bigger surprise was he shed his homeless man's locks.
There were plenty of times in the first half I -- believe it or not -- pined for a holding player like Claudio Reyna so the U.S. could get it's bearings. The first 20 minutes were so frantic, you just felt El Tri might nick one.
Those first minutes were nervy, nervy times. If Nery 'Burt' Castillo doesn't pull up lame in the 34th minute, this game maybe has a different outcome. I simply don't like the speed Mexico has against the U.S. defense.
I also worried, until the Bradley goal before the half, how the U.S. would find a way to crack through the Mexican defense. Kicking it long wasn't working because of the wind. Bradley had selected an ultra conservative bench -- the only attacking option was Jozy Altidore. If the game played out 0-0 it absolutely screamed Freddy Adu.
There was no Plan B.
Everything, though, cracked the right for the U.S. and there's no faulting that. Mexico slowed down and the U.S. amped up its possession game and cashed in a set piece -- as usual.
Meanwhile, Mexico didn't seem to have a clue. Maybe the only thing Sven was missing from his plan of attack was Benny Hill music, because aside from that one set play where the guy got behind Pearce and the ball somehow didn't find the back of Howard's net, Mexico never looked much like scoring.
The U.S. still has a lot of shortcomings, and with this current core we've seen pretty much all it can do. To me, Bob Bradley still has a lot of Herm Edwards in him, in that he does all the right things motivating the team -- up until when the game starts. The players, though, did the jobs he described. It wasn't flashy but it banked three glorious points.
That said, there's no pooh-poohing the 2-0 win over Mexico. We added to Mexico's misery is all the better. It's not more than a 50-50 bet that Sven is still around when the U.S. heads down to the Azteca in August.
Miscellany
This just in -- Brett Favre is still retired. ... Good U.S. supporters in Columbus, which ought to be the de facto home field along with RJK. ... Jozy had a bad giveaway on his first touch of the game, he then helped set up the second goal via the ref's advantage call. ... It dawned on me that Dos Santos -- who did boot Hedjuk in the face -- is a young Donovan. He's got speed to burn, but doesn't seem able to put it all together for Mexico. ... As longtime TOP contributor 30f mentioned during the live blog, does finishing first in CONCACAF merit the U.S. a better seed for the World Cup or at least avoid the 2006 Group of Death foursome? ... Suffice to say, Crew Stadium is now our Azteca, without the smog, obviously. ... Again, just to alert you again like ESPN -- Brett Favre is still retired.
Final thoughts
Three points in the bank. What more do we need to say? Wednesday wasn't a night about experimenting.
Bradley didn't throw out a roster that was going to make us nerds go all gooey and soft inside. It was efficient, tactical and designed to get a result.
If Sven gets the sword, all the better.
That 11 without a win on U.S. soil. I'm pretty sure that means CONCACAF is ours.
Time for Lost.
Labels: bob bradley, Landon Donovan, Mexico is our bitch, Michael Bradley, Soccer, svennis, USMNT
According to my extensive (okay, wikipedia) research, it seems that that the world cup seedings are based on those wonderful FIFA World Rankings and not how well a team finishes in their qualifying group. Remember in 2006 when the US was ranked 9 in the world, higher than the Dutch, Portugal, the Czechs and EVERY team from Africa? Yes, it is that accurate! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_World_Cup_seeding
The US is a lock to qualify for 2010 in South Africa - and not just because of the win against Mexico. Three teams from Concacaf make it straight in to the WC finals and the fourth place team has a play-off with a team from South America (i.e. Concacaf gets only three teams into the World Cup).
The US racking up 1-0 wins against El Sal and TNT might, in some small way, push up their FIFA world ranking so the USMNT gets a better seed in 2010. But how important is the ranking if Portugal is 17 and CDI is 27 while Mexico is #5?
Where the US finishes in the Concacaf top three for qualifying is functionally irrelevant. How WELL they are playing and how dangerous they can be to other top notch teams makes a difference. The US has to put some offensive threat out on the pitch that can score goals and keep the ball more that 30 yards from Timmay some of the time.
Much of the offensive and creative play from the US has been just middling the last decades. I respect Brian Ching's effort - but he seems like the Coca-Cola Championship striker that is good enough for the lower leagues but not likely to get it done in the Premiership (think Dean Windass at Hull who got loaned back to a lower league team).
I already know that Ching and Eddie J are not the guys to scare a top notch national team while Donovan can be that guy. Can Bradley Junior, Adu and Altidore be those guys? We better hope so AND we better spend these qualifying matches demonstrating that.
Right 30f. In 2006 the US topped its qualifying group (courtesy of a 2-0 Columbus win over Mexico) and yet Mexico was given the top seed during the World Cup draw (scandal!) and we ended up in the group of death.
FIFA is slowly coming around to the fact that the US is now the dominate team in the region and its FIFA ranking should reflect that as such.
FIFA rankings are like college sports AP and coaches' polls. They fail to respond to the emerging powers in sports while holding struggling "major" colleges in the rankings. See: Notre Dame (or Florida St and Miami years ago) in college football or Mich St in bball the last few years. Each got a guarenteed spot in the top 25 without even trying even though they were in down years.
Great result, of course. Very impressed with our offensive initiative. Somewhat annoyed with defensive lapses but good defenses get better when playing with each other. By the time the WC comes around, we should have better communication. Gooch and Boca hadn't played with each other in a while. Really kind of liked the lineup going forward in qualifying. Our best lineup would include Dolo for Frankie (who played suprisingly effective - he could be a 'matchup' guy we use against certain speedy wingers) and Altidore for Ching. That'll happen by 2010. Pearce has a target all over him - anyone who wants to step up and take that spot would have an easier time than any other position out there.
Speaking of, I wonder if we will ever hear from these guys ever again:
Benny Feilhaber
Johnathan Spector
Eddie Johnson
Freddy Adu
Alexi Lalas
TOPoint is my first destination after any USMNT game. Great breakdown as usual. Did anyone see homeboy blazing the single barrel salute in the post game celebration? Classic.