USA 2, Slovenia 2: Post Game Reaction

I will try not to rant about Koman Coulibaly, but yet I may have to, but I'll try my best to judge the things we actually had control over.

Everyone watched yet another early let down from the States, and another remarkable comeback, that finished 3-2 2-2.  But the US isn't out of it yet, in an up and down group where England continues to disappoint and Slovenia continues to overachieve.

Not going to be a typical review from us, since its the same things that has happened against El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Turkey to name a few. 

The good:  The US' innate ability to counter after being punched in the face.  Bob Bradley's halftime tactics and adjustments, moving from this:

------------Altidore--------Findley

Dempsey-----Torres-----Bradley-----Donovan

to this:

-------------------Altidore

---------Dempsey----------Donovan

Feilhaber------------Edu-------------Bradley

Torres and Findley just weren't cutting it, Bob realized it and adjusted accordingly, Edu took over the holding midfield role, allowing Feilhaber and Bradley to push forward and it was this formation that directly led to both US goal.  Jozy Altidore enjoyed one of his best games in a US shirt, Donovan showed his class on his cannon of a goal, and Bradley displayed his 90 minute motor.

The bad:  Another poor first half showing from the Americans.  Dempsey looked slack, the defensive communication was shaky, and the supposed insertion of Torres to help control possession fell on its face.

The ugly: Koman Coulibaly

Player Ratings:

Tim Howard- 6.5- Was caught out on the first goal and should've told Onyewu to step up on the second one.  Did make some trademark saves and clearances.  Not at his best, but even then, he kept the US in the game.

Steve Cherundolo- 6.5- Defended 1v1 quite well but couldn't get forward, as is his penchant.

Jay DeMerit- 6.5- Was beaten aerially on a few occasions, but kept a cool head and made some solid tackles.

Oguchi Onyewu- 5.5- Still showing the rust of being off for 8 months and was caught out of position on both goals.  Luckily these are easy fixes.

Carlos Bocanegra- 5- Unimpressive performance from Captain America today.  Birsa was a force unfortunately and failed to communicate on the first goal, but got better as the game wore on.

Landon Donovan- 7- Attacked, was a force, and the goal was grease lightning into the roof of the net.  Glorious from the number 10 today.

Jose Torres- 4- A stinker today from Torres.  Couldn't match up against the physicality of the Slovenian midfield.  As much blame goes to Bradley for putting him in this situation.  Torres would've made a great second half sub once the game had opened up.

Michael Bradley- 8- His full 90 minute motor shined, as he was all over the midfield.  His goal was absolutely fantastic.  9/10 players would've ballooned that ball over the bar but Junior did well to just fire over the top of the keeper.  One of his best games ever.

Clint Dempsey- 5- Poor from Clint today.  Didn't make a difference on offense.  Did work some on defense, but that's not why he's on field.

Robbie Findley- 4- Why does Findley continue to get starts?  His touch and decision making are not up to par on the international level.  Plain and simple.  His yellow was a joke, but it could end up being a blessing in disguise. 

Jozy Altidore- 1st half- 4- 2nd half- 8- Probably the best 45 minutes of his short national team career.  Strength and size in the box late directly led to the tying goal.

SUBS

Maurice Edu- 6- Shaky early on, but sat in and allowed Bradley and Feilhaber to push forward and drive the attack.  Expect a start on Wednesday.

Benny Feilhaber- 6- Showed some flashes and helped maintain possession and helped track defensively.

Hurculez Gomez- 6- Made the run that opened up space for Bradley to score his goal. 

USA 1, England 1: Post Match Analysis

The most highly anticipated match in US Soccer history turned out to be one for the history books.  After an all to familiar start that saw Steve Gerrard score easily past Tim Howard in the 4th minute, the US looked well on its way to a consecutive poor start in World Cup play.  England looked crisp, sharp, and composed, the USA looked awed, uninspired, and plainly enough, not ready.  After another agonizing 36 minutes for US fans which saw few chances go by the wayside, Clint Dempsey took an ambitious and seemingly simple shot from about 22 yards, which England keeper Robert Green looked to have all but saved, but then he misjudged it and bumbled it into his own net.  1-1.  New life for the Yanks.  England was stunned.  I was stunned.  The childish mistake from Green allowed the US to escape with a point and their World Cup lives well in hand.  The second half saw the US concede quite a bit of possession, but never any great opportunities.  Tim Howard stopped shot after shot and the USA would've pulled the unbelievable had Rob Green not halfway redeemed himself on a Jozy Altidore chance in the latter stages of the half.  Wayne Rooney nearly pulled something from nothing with an absolute cannon of a shot that blasted just wide of Tim Howard's goal.  As it stands, the US is undefeated in World Cup play against England...nice!!!

The biggest test is over, but now a brand new one presents itself.  A sneaky Slovenia team lies in wait tomorrow for its Algerian counterparts, both who know that should a winner emerge from that match that they'll be 2 points clear of the group favorites.  England get a chance to right the ship against Algeria next, while the US faces Slovenia on the 18th.

On to the player ratings:

Tim Howard- 8 - Couldn't do anything about Gerrard's goal, and past that, was an absolute rock.  If there's one player on top of his game in this World Cup, he's in the US' net.  Scary moment after the Heskey challenge, but Howard is in beast mode.

Steve Cherundolo- 7- Another player who impressed me tremendously.  The always savvy and steady veteran gave James Milner such a hard time that Fabio Capello was compelled to remove Milner after just 30 minutes.  Got forward well and defended with aplomb.  Solid effort today.

Jay DeMerit- 8 - Was an absolute bulldog in defense.  Shutting down Wayne Rooney is no small task and the former Watford captain will have himself a new home soon enough should he continue this kind of performance.

Oguchi Onyewu- 8 - All the doubts and questions have been resoundingly answered.  Gooch battled Heskey and Crouch for 97 minutes and didn't concede an inch.  A couple instances of rust (England goal, should've stepped quicker to Rooney to deny the entry pass, and got caught to far up field, allowing Heskey a 1v1 with Howard ), but after all was said and done, big marks for the big man today. 

Carlos Bocanegra- 6.5 - Did anyone really expect the aging Captain America to go toe-to-toe with Aaron Lennon for 90 minutes?  No.  Bocanegra defended smartly, not allowing Lennon the flank, but conceded the inside channel in the hope that he'd find support from the midfield or centerbacks.  All in all, a stout performance from Bocanegra.

Landon Donovan- 6.5 - Really wanted to see more from Donovan in the match as he didn't really put his mark in save for a few exceptional set piece deliveries and the early Altidore chance.  Did put in work defensively and his passing is always top notch.

Michael Bradley- 6.5 - The boy sweatpants was stout as always in central midfield and effectively shushed up Frank Lampard for the majority of the match.  His passing was soft early on but improved as the match progressed.

Ricardo Clark- 5 - The one low spot in the US starting 11.  Clark lost Gerrard on his goal, was caught out of position on other occasions.  Seemed a bit nervous with his touches, but his defense, when he's in the proper position, is always pretty good.

Clint Dempsey- 7 - "If you don't shoot, you're never going to score." That phrase rings so true for Dempsey's game today.  Was active throughout in offense and even put in some work defensively.  The goal was a gift, but like he said post match, they all count the same.

Robbie Findley- 5 - You can run and run to the end of the world, but his touch and inability to keep possession are quickly becoming his downfall.

Jozy Altidore- 7.5 - Was a workhorse up top and forced Ledley King out of the game at halftime and beat up on Jamie Carragher in the second.  Probably should've netted his opportunity, but Green did well to tip it on to the post.

SUBS

Edson Buddle- 6 - Immediately brought a new physical presence to the game, and won quite a few headers and kept possession well.  He's my pick to start against Slovenia.

Stuart Holden- 6 - Defended well for the last 10 minutes and probably should've done better on his late cross.

More analysis later...for now, enjoy the result.

USA vs England Two Day Preview

Day one I'll cover the ins and outs of the US squad and tomorrow we'll chat about England.

So first off lets talk about who starts, as there still are a couple positions where there are some questions.

Unfortunately there are now questions all over the back line.  Jonathan Spector's form has dropped significantly since his stellar run of form this time last summer, but veteran Steve Cherundolo can capably step in and its pretty close to securing the spot on Saturday.  What Cherundolo lacks in size he can make up with offensive ability, experience, and agility  Right back is settled.  Against the US's three previous opponents the US back line has included, in the middle, Clarence Goodson, and while he has performed admirably, he wasn't brought to the World Cup to start.  Jay DeMerit has struggled without his buddy Oguchi Onyewu in the middle.  According to Bob Bradley, all 23 players are fully fit and ready to go 90 minutes, and the vibe I'm getting from press reports is that Onyewu and DeMerit have looked sharp in training.  But Onyewu's lack of playing time over the last few matches is worrying.  But if Bradley was just saving a fully fit Onyewu for England, then more power to him.  Jay DeMerit is a better player with Onyewu partnering him in the middle, as it leaves less for him to worry about in the air and can thus concentrate on his 1v1 defending, which is where he exceeds.  Carlos Bocanegra is a lock at left back as Bornstein's limited minutes have only cemented his innate ability to create chances for the other team.

In midfield things are a bit more settled, with the exception of who starts next to Michael Bradley in central midfield.  My favorite to start was Maurice Edu, but with Ricardo Clark getting starts in the last two games with the full team and Edu not seeing anytime at all, that kind of tells me that Clark will get the start.  That's all well and good, I just think Edu is better defensively and has good positional awareness.  More so than Clark at least.  I expect Jose Torres to play some kind of part against England.  Perhaps after Bradley and Clark wear down Carrick and Lampard a bit, Torres can be brought on to sit in behind Bradley, allowing him to push forward into the attack and Torres to control possession and distribution.  Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are shoo-ins to start on the flanks as Dempsey wasn't effective up top against Turkey and played well against Australia (when he wasn't being hacked down).  Holden and Beasley are first options off the bench in the wide areas and Maurice Edu could have a minor part to play.  Benny Feilhaber seems to have lost his former role to Torres, but still remains a viable offensive threat off the bench in a pinch.

Up top I'd like to think Jozy Altidore is good to go, and according to everyone including the man himself, he is ready to go.  Who partners him is a whole other story.  The popular pick is Edson Buddle, who displayed his attacking prowess against Australia.  He was physical and was knocking down balls well and controlling traffic up top.  That leave Robbie Findley as the speed option off the bench and Hurculez Gomez retains his role as the super-sub.  Findley played well against both Turkey and Australia, however, he showed his ass against the Aussies after missing two open net opportunities, which CANNOT happen against a team like England. 

Therefore that leaves us with this formation.

-----------------------Howard

Cherundolo-----DeMerit-----Onyewu-----Bocanegra

-----------------Bradley-------Clark

Donovan-----------------------------------Dempsey

-----------------Buddle-------Altidore

I'll be back tomorrow for an England preview.  Good night to you all.

Turkey and Australia Brief Review

Two wins, two completely different won matches.  Against Turkey the US grabbed a come from behind, 2-1, win against a strong Turkey squad thanks to goals from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, courtesy of Landon Donovan assists.  After a dismal first half in which the US sat back and attempted to absorb loads of pressure, the US changed its tune in the second half with Robbie Findley of all players playing a key role.

Against Australia, the US thoroughly thrashed the Socceroos 3-1, thanks to two goals from Edson Buddle and a late insurance goal from Hurculez Gomez.  The US dominated the match and the Aussies generally looked disinterested from start to finish. 

All in all it gives the US some confidence heading into the showdown with England on June 12.

Apologies...

Internet problems have taken two weeks to resolve, and we're back with a quick review of the Turkey and Australia matches and a in depth preview of the England match...maybe even later I'll catch everyone up some some transfer goodies...here we go...